The U.S. Air Force said Thursday it sent two B-52 bombers over the East China Sea for training with the U.S. Navy and Air Self-Defense Force near Okinawa Prefecture, the latest mission in the waterway that is home to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands.

The training mission, which took place Wednesday, was part of the so-called continuous bomber presence operations the U.S. military says have been ongoing since March 2004 and are part of the United States' long-standing "freedom of navigation" policies.

"Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and conducted integration training with the U.S. Navy, Koku Jieitai (Japanese Air Self-Defense Force) and F-15C Eagles assigned to the 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan, in the vicinity of the East China Sea," the U.S. Pacific Air Forces said in a statement.