TAIPEI, Aug 22 (Reuters) – A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on Friday, in a move the U.S. 7th Fleet said “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
The Chinese military tracked and monitored the patrol and reconnaissance aircraft throughout the transit, the state-backed Global Times newspaper reported, citing a military source, saying the “situation was under control”.
U.S. military ships or aircraft every few months pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China — missions that anger Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States next month to meet President Donald Trump as Washington and Beijing look to stabilise ties marred by issues including Taiwan, trade disputes and technology curbs.
“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” the 7th Fleet said in a statement.
“The aircraft’s transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.”
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the U.S. say the strait is an international waterway.
Beijing has repeatedly said the Taiwan issue is its internal affair and at the core of Beijing’s interests — a red line that must not be crossed or trampled on.
Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by William Mallard)
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