(Updated with reaction from China)
China said on Wednesday it had sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a US Navy maritime patrol plane flying over the Taiwan Strait, just hours after a meeting between representatives of the Chinese and US military staffs.
The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said a P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine warfare and reconnaissance aircraft flew over the strait while crossing international airspace.
“By operating in the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States defends the navigation rights and freedoms of all nations,” the 7th Fleet said in a statement.
“The aircraft’s passage through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the statement added.
The Chinese military described the overflight of the area by an American aircraft as “hype” and added that it had sent fighters to monitor and warn the P-8A Poseidon and “deal with it in accordance with the law and regulations”.
“Theater troops are always on alert and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it tracked the patrol plane, adding that it crossed the strait heading south, but no abnormal activity was reported.
The last time a US maritime patrol plane flew over the Taiwan Strait, in December, China also sent fighters.
(Reporting Ryan Woo; with the contribution of Ben Blanchard in Taipei; French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)
