OUR REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT:

Two U.S. Air Force B-52 long range bombers flew what U.S. officials are calling a "routine training mission" through airspace over the East  China that China is claiming as a new air defense identification zone.   Entering the zone without notifying Chinese authorities on Monday was the first U.S. challenge to China's controversial move that has  increased tensions in the region.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters today that two unarmed  aircraft flew the "routine training mission" from Guam and spent about an hour inside the airspace designated by China on Saturday as its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).  Warren characterized the mission as having "happened without incident."  A separate American defense official identified the two aircraft as B-52′s based at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

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