Washington has strengthened its alliances in the region, irritating Beijing with the regular deployment of military ships and aircraft in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing announced Tuesday, November 26, that it had deployed air and naval forces to monitor an American military plane that was flying over the sensitive Taiwan Strait. Earlier in the morning, a Boeing “US Navy P-8A Poseidon crossed Taiwan Strait international airspace”the United States Seventh Fleet said in a statement.
“The plane’s passage through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region”she added. China says it monitored anti-submarine patrol plane, but condemns flight “openly put forward”.
“US remarks distort legal principles, confuse the public and mislead international perception”said the senior colonel and spokesperson for the Chinese Air Force’s Eastern Theater of Operations. Beijing has “organized naval and air forces to monitor and protect the trajectory of the American aircraft and responded effectively”added this officer of the People’s Liberation Army.
Washington strengthens its alliances in the region
Washington has strengthened its alliances in the region, irritating Beijing with the regular deployment of military ships and aircraft in the Taiwan Strait. In mid-September, the Chinese army had already claimed to have followed this same model of plane over the strait, promising to “resolutely defend national sovereignty”.
The United States is Taiwan’s main security supporter, although it does not diplomatically recognize the island. Washington and its allies regularly cross the 180-kilometer strait, by plane or boat, to strengthen the international status of this stretch of sea, infuriating Beijing, which claims jurisdiction over Taiwan and its surrounding waters.
China urges US not to cross red line
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Saturday urged the United States not to cross the line “red line” in their support for Taiwan, two months before Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The warning was made during a one-on-one meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden in Lima, on the sidelines of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Forum.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the U.S. P-8A plane crossed the strait from south to north in the morning. Taiwanese army “closely monitored movements in the surrounding sea and airspace, and the situation remained normal”the ministry said in a statement.
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