Taiwan claims a US military plane crossed the Taiwan Strait

FILE PHOTO: Taiwanese flags at the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 26, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang

TAIPEI, Feb 27 (Reuters) – A U.S. military P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft has passed through the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said on Monday, in the latest U.S. mission through of the troubled waterway that separates Taiwan from China.

Beijing has expressed outrage over US military missions across the strait, most often by warships but occasionally by planes, claiming that China “has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the waterway. Taiwan and the United States dispute this point, arguing that it is an international waterway.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, in a brief statement, said the US P-8A, which is also used in anti-submarine missions, had flown south across the strait.

Taiwanese forces followed the plane as it flew across the strait, the ministry said, calling the situation “normal.” He did not give further details.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States has previously claimed that such missions demonstrate its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has intensified its military activity near the island in the past three years to try to force Taiwan to accept Beijing’s sovereignty.

The Taiwanese government claims that only the island’s people can decide its future and that it will not give in to threats.

Washington is Taiwan’s main international supporter and arms seller, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing in Spanish by Flora Gómez)

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