US says navy aeroplane transits Taiwan Strait
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A US Navy aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Sept 17.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEIJING - A US navy aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Sept 17 in what Washington called a show of commitment to free and open international airspace, prompting China to scramble fighters over a waterway it calls its own.
“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” the US Seventh Fleet said of the P-8A Poseidon’s flight.
China, which claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, calls Western military transits in the area provocations. The Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said jets were scrambled to monitor and “alert” the US aircraft.
China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has over the past five years stepped up military activities around the island, including war games.
Last week, two German navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait in the first such transit in two decades, in a show of Berlin's resolve to stand with Western allies over Taiwan. REUTERS
