China sends naval, air forces to shadow US plane over Taiwan Strait

PHOTO CAPTION: A U.S. Navy Sailor directs a P-8 Poseidon aircraft after landing Naval Air Station Sigonella, Nov. 7, 2022. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Andy A. Anderson via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's military said on Tuesday it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and warn a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denouncing the United States for trying to "mislead" the international community.

Around once a month, U.S. military ships or aircraft pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China - missions that always anger Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over the island of Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the strait is an international waterway.

The U.S. Navy's 7th fleet said a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had flown through the strait "in international airspace", adding that the flight demonstrated the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

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

China's military criticised the flight as "public hype", adding that it monitored the U.S. aircraft throughout its transit and "effectively" responded to the situation.

"The relevant remarks by the U.S. distort legal principles, confuse public opinion and mislead international perceptions," the military's Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.

"We urge the U.S. side to stop distorting and hyping up and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability."

Taiwan's defence ministry said the P-8A flew in a northerly direction through the strait and that the Taiwanese military monitored it, adding the "situation was as normal".

In April, China's military said it sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a U.S. Navy Poseidon in the Taiwan Strait, a mission that took place just hours after a call between the Chinese and U.S. defence chiefs.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Kate Mayberry)