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Story highlights
- US B-1 bomber based in Guam was flying to South Korea for training mission
- The US does not recognize Beijing's claims to the region's airspace
The pilots of the US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber responded to the Chinese air traffic controllers, saying that they were conducting routine operations in international airspace and did not deviate from their flight path, according to US Pacific Air Forces spokesman Maj. Phil Ventura.
The ADIZ declaration required airlines flying over the designated waters to first notify Chinese authorities before transiting. The US and Japanese governments do not recognize China's claim on the area.
"Pacific Air Forces ... did not recognize the Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) when it was announced in November of 2013, and does not recognize it today," Ventura told CNN.
"The ADIZ has not changed our operations."
On Thursday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said she wasn't aware of the specific incident but said that setting up an ADIZ was the right of a sovereign nation.
"The United States has its own ADIZ. The US should respect the right of other countries to set up ADIZ," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
The US plane was flying 70 nautical miles southwest of South Korea's Jeju Island.
According to the US Air Force, the Guam-based B-1 bomber was conducting a series of training missions with Japanese and South Korean military aircraft.
"Our increased cooperation enables our combined forces to rapidly react to counter aggression against Japan and other allies and partners," said US Maj. Ryan Simpson, the Pacific Air Forces bomber operations chief, in a statement announcing the training mission.