A U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Friday for the first publicly reported time in five months, drawing attention from the Chinese military ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington in September.
The P-8A Poseidon flew southwest through international airspace from the East China Sea to the South China Sea in what the Navy described as a routine transit,Stars and Stripes reported, citing U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Matthew Comer. The flight marked the first publicly reported Navy P-8 transit through the roughly 110-mile-wide strait since March 11, according to the outlet.
Beijing claims Taiwan as Chinese territory and says it has jurisdiction over the strait, while the U.S. and Taiwan consider the strait an international waterway.
“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” Comer told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “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 Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
The P-8A is the Navy’s multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and is designed to conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to aNaval Air Systems Command report. The aircraft carries technology including synthetic aperture radar, an electro-optical and infrared sensor turret and acoustic capabilities used for maritime detection and tracking, according to the report.
“I see this as a routine operation, but it is good that they are still continuing since some other actions related to Taiwan appear to have been paused in the run up to the Xi-Trump summit next month,” Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the DCNF.
U.S. warships regularly transit the Taiwan Strait, while American military aircraft make publicly announced passages less frequently, according toStars and Stripes. The Navy has previously described P-8 flights through the strait as operations conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrations of U.S. support for navigational rights and freedoms, according to theU.S. 7th Fleet.
China’s military tracked and monitored the P-8 throughout Friday’s passage,Reuters reported, citing the Chinese state-run Global Times. The situation remained “under control,” a Chinese military source told the Global Times, according to Reuters.
Chinese state media subsequently characterized the mission as “close-in reconnaissance” containing an “element of military pressure,”Stars and Stripes reported, citing commentary published by the Global Times. Beijing regularly objects to American military passages through the strait and claims sovereignty and jurisdiction over the waterway, while Washington and Taipei reject China’s position, according toReuters.
The flight also comes ahead of a closely watched meeting between Trump and Xi, with the Chinese leader expected to visit the United States on Sept. 24,Reuters reported, citing Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have also held talks as Washington and Beijing prepare for Xi’s visit, according toReuters.
Taiwan remains a major point of friction between Washington and Beijing heading into the meeting, which comes as the two countries seek to stabilize relations strained by Taiwan, trade disputes and technology restrictions, according toReuters.
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