The United States is increasing military pressure on China amid mounting tensions in the South China Sea and blaming Beijing for trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to expand its influence in the region.

Over the past few weeks, US Navy ships and B-1 air force bombers have undertaken missions, making it clear that the US military intends to maintain a presence in the region and reassure the allies, CNN reported.

These steps are being taken amid Washington’s increased diplomatic pressure on Beijing in light of China’s accusations that it could not stop the spread of the COVID-19 and were not transparent in the early stages of the outbreak.

The Pentagon accused China of using a pandemic to gain military and economic benefits by expanding the areas in which it operates. “

"The People's Republic of China is attempting to use the regional focus on Covid to assertively advance its own interests," US Navy Capt. Michael Kafka, a spokesperson for the US military's Indo-Pacific Command told CNN in a statement on Wednesday.

The Pentagon made it clear that the COVID-19 outbreak did not interfere with its ability to respond to Chinese actions.

On Wednesday the Navy Pacific Fleet took the unusual step of declaring that all of its submarines in the region were at sea conducting operations "in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region amidst the pandemic caused by the coronavirus."

Although the US military recently ended its "continual bomber presence" on the Pacific island of Guam for the first time since 2004, the US Air Force has continued to dispatch bombers to the region.

In recent weeks, the United States sent B-1 bombers three times from US bases to the region three times, including operations on the South China Sea and the deployment of four B-1 bombers and 200 people in Guam.

Late last month, the US Navy also challenged China’s claims for the waters surrounding the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea, which the US claims China uses to deploy weapons and military facilities.

These challenges were sharply criticized by Beijing, which called on the United States to focus on the COVID-19 response and stop such military operations.

No one is saying that the US is moving toward conflict with China, but Secretary of Defense Mark Esper still considers Beijing containment a priority. "We are concerned by increasing, opportunistic activity by the People's Republic of China to coerce its neighbors and press its unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, while the region and the world is focused on addressing the Covid-19 pandemic," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn, told CNN.

The South China Sea is considered the most important strategic territory, as it has some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, as well as potential deposits of natural resources such as oil and gas. Parts of the sea are disputed by several bidders, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

"We continue to execute a global Freedom of Navigation operations program in which US Navy ships safely and professionally challenge excessive maritime claims, including those in the South China Sea. We also conduct routine transits through the Taiwan Strait to further demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate anywhere that international law allows," Kafka said.