China says it monitored U.S. B-52s that flew through its new air zone

Tensions are running high in the skies between China and Japan -- and the United States is refusing to stay on the sidelines.

After Beijing upset the region by declaring a new air defense zone over a large part of the East China Sea, two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers flew through the area in what the U.S. State Department said was a planned military exercise.

The U.S. aircraft ignored China's new demands that planes that fly through the zone identify themselves and submit flight plans to Chinese authorities -- despite Beijing's warnings that it could take military measures against aircraft that failed to comply.

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