The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said Tuesday that it flew a P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane over the sensitive Taiwan Strait in the latest US provocation in the region.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) criticized the transit and said that it deployed ships and planes in response to track the flight.
“The theater command mobilized naval and air forces to monitor and remain vigilant throughout the US aircraft’s transit, effectively responding and handling the situation,” said Col. Cao Jun, a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command.
The US frames its military activity in the Taiwan Strait as routine even though it’s highly provocative to China. “The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows,” the 7th Fleet said in its press release on the flight.
Cao said China was urging the US to “stop distorting and hyping and to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”
The US sends warships through the Taiwan Strait more frequently than planes, but flights have become more common over the past year. The last US flight over the Strait took place in September, and the last US warship transit happened in October.
The US Navy destroyer that sailed through the Taiwan Strait was joined by a Canadian frigate as the US has been encouraging its allies to increase military activity near China’s coast. The US has also continued to increase support for Taiwan despite repeated warnings from China that the island is a major red line.
