VERA Files
A two-month old YouTube video that was reuploaded by a Facebook (FB) page last Sept. 23 claimed that the United States, in a show of force, flew a nuclear bomber plane over Chinese airspace. This is not true.
The last reported deployment of two B-15 Stratofortress Bomber planes was in Indonesia last June to train with the Indonesian Air Force.
The video claimed that:
“Sa isang nakakamanghang pagpapakita ng lakas militar, ipinadala ng Estados Unidos ang kanyang mabigat na long range na B-52 bomber sa airspace ng China (In a spectacular show of military power, the United States deployed its heavy long-range B-25 bomber into Chinese airspace).”
No news reports support this. Cursory search only reveals that on June 19, the U.S. landed two B-15 Stratofortress Bomber planes in Indonesia.
Some reports touted the deployment as “right in China’s backyard,” as Indonesia is around 4,197 kilometers from mainland China. The B-52 Stratofortress Bomber has a range of 14,080 kilometers.
To support its false claim, the video flashed a photo of a B-52 Stratofortress Bomber above the sea. Reverse image search reveals that the photo’s original version, published by Alamy Photos, was captured by the U.S. Air Force on Feb. 17, 2015, off the coast of Guam.
The video further claimed that Japan, the U.S. and the Philippines agreed to conduct daily patrols in the West Philippine Sea. This is misleading. They only agreed to undertake regular joint drills.
On June 16, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Japan’s National Security Advisor Akiba Takeo, and Philippine’s National Security Advisor Eduardo Año met to discuss the enhancement of trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. This is not breaking news, as the video made it appear.
Nowhere in the official White House readout did the U.S. and Japan promise daily joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea. The discussions only revolved around strengthening their defense cooperation and enhancing maritime domain awareness.
FB page PH Speaker (created on Sept. 19, 2022 under the name My Name 001) and YouTube channel Terong Explained (created on Oct. 6, 2015) uploaded the video, which garnered a total of over 214,981 interactions.
The erroneous video reappeared two days after the Philippine government said it would file environmental cases against China for destroying coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
