China says its fighters shadowed US Navy patrol plane over Taiwan Strait

BEIJING – China’s military on Dec 6 said it sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a US Navy patrol aircraft that flew over the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a mission that took place weeks before Taiwan holds elections.

China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the US dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane, which is also used for anti-submarine missions, flew over the strait in international airspace.

“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,” it said in a statement.

China’s military described the flight as “public hype”, adding that it had sent fighters to monitor and warn the US plane and “deal with it in accordance with the law and regulations”.

“Troops in the theatre are always on high alert and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said its forces monitored the US aircraft as it flew south through the strait, and described the situation as “normal”.

The last time the US Navy announced a Poseidon had flown through the strait in October, China said it had sent

fighter jets to monitor and warn the aircraft

.

Taiwan is gearing up for presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan 13, which China has cast as a choice between war and peace.

China has stepped up its military activity around Taiwan in the past four years, including staging two rounds of major war games over the last year and a half. REUTERS