US Navy reconnaissance plane passes through Taiwan Strait, closely watched by Chinese jets

A US reconnaissance aircraft passed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in three months on Thursday, a flight the Chinese military said it had watched closely.

Army Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesman for China’s Eastern Theatre Command, announced that the passage through the Taiwan Strait by the United States P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft was “publicly hyped”, and that the PLA had sent fighter aircraft to monitor its activities.

“The Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army organised fighter planes to monitor the passage of US aircraft and dealt with them in accordance with laws and regulations,” Shi said.

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“Troops in the theatre remain on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability.”

Earlier, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet released a statement that the P-8A Poseidon transited the Taiwan Strait via international airspace on Thursday, saying its operations were within international law, upholding “the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations”.

“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,” the statement said.

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A US P-8A Poseidon previously flew over the disputed waterway in July as China was conducting increased military activities near the Taiwan Strait. At the time, the PLA deployed more than 30 warplanes, such as J-16 and Su-30 fighters, as well as a number of warships on each day of the exercise.

Beijing considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory to be brought under its control – by force if necessary. While Washington does not recognise the self-ruled island as independent, it is committed to supporting its defence.

The recent military tension between Washington and Beijing has driven the increasing presence of US and Chinese weapons systems in the region.

The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier arrived at South Korea’s southeastern port of Busan on Thursday after taking part in a trilateral exercise with South Korean and Japanese warships in waters near Jeju off the Korean peninsula on Monday and Tuesday.

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Last month, the US Navy said its guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and Canada’s HMCS Ottawa had conducted a “routine” transit through the Taiwan Strait as a second joint mission between the two militaries after their first in June.

In response, Chinese aircraft carrier the Shandong sailed across the strait to just 60 nautical miles (111km) off Taiwan just a few days after the US-Canada joint operations.

South China Morning Post