Day: February 27, 2023

• China has been enraged by US military deployments in the small strait.
• China’s People’s Liberation Army forces closely monitored the aircraft.
• The Pentagon did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

As a US P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance military plane sailed through the crucial Taiwan Strait on Monday, China accused the US of “endangering” peace and stability in the region.

Beijing has been enraged by US military deployments in the small strait, most often of warships but occasionally of planes, claiming that China “has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction” over the waterway. Taiwan and the United States argue that it is an international waterway.

The Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said its forces closely monitored the aircraft, which is also used for anti-submarine missions, as it flew through the strait which separates China from Taiwan.

“The U.S. side’s actions deliberately interfered with and disrupted the regional situation and endangered peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We firmly oppose this,” it said in a short statement.

High Alert

“Theatre forces remain on high alert at all times and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Pentagon did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

The US has previously stated that such missions demonstrate the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Taiwan’s defense ministry announced in a brief statement that the plane had flown south via the strait.

Taiwan’s forces tracked the aircraft as if flying through the strait, the ministry said, saying the situation was “as normal”. That didn’t go into detail.

China, which claims democratically controlled Taiwan as its own territory, has increased military action near the island in recent years in an attempt to force Taiwan to recognize Beijing’s sovereignty.

Taiwan’s government claims that only the people of the island can decide their future and that it would not cave into threats.

Despite the lack of official diplomatic connections, Washington is Taiwan’s most important overseas patron and arms vendor, and US backing for the island is a continual source of friction in Sino-US relations.

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