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HomeWorldAsiaUS military plane flew through Taiwan Strait day after US-China talks

US military plane flew through Taiwan Strait day after US-China talks

The US Seventh Fleet reported that a P-8A Poseidon naval aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after the US and Chinese defence chiefs held their first talks since November 2022 in an attempt to reduce regional tensions, according to The Washington Times.

By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.

The patrol and reconnaissance aircraft “transited the Taiwan Strait into international airspace,” the 7th Fleet stated.

“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 is separated from Taiwan, a self-governing island, by a strait 160 kilometres (100 miles) wide. Although the strait is located within international waters, China considers the passage of foreign warplanes and ships through it a challenge to its sovereignty.

Beijing raised fighter jets to “monitor the US plane’s passage” and acted “in accordance with laws and regulations”, Colonel Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, claimed.

Theatre troops are on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability.

China has regularly voiced strong protests and activated defences in response to ships and warplanes passing through the strait, especially from the US.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun on Tuesday the latest US efforts to improve communication with the Chinese military and reduce the possibility of a regional confrontation. The hour-long call came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China for talks this month.

Military-to-military contacts stalled in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communications after then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had visited Taiwan. In response, China launched missiles over Taiwan and staged military manoeuvres, including what appeared to be a rehearsal for a sea and air blockade of the island.

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