TAIPEI, Taiwan — Chinese warplanes tailed a U.S. military aircraft through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, China’s military said.
The U.S. aircraft was a P-8A Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance plane, capable of conducting long-range anti-submarine warfare, according to a statement by the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command.
Chinese military forces “organized warplanes to tail and monitor the U.S. aircraft’s flight and handled it in accordance with the law,” said Li Xi, a senior colonel and spokesperson for the command.
“Theater command troops will remain on constant high alert and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” he added.
The U.S. Navy didn’t immediately comment on the incident.
China claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its own territory and bristles at other countries’ patrolling the body of water separating it from the island.
On Friday, Germany sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait in its first transit of the disputed waters in more than two decades, drawing criticism from Beijing.
In 2001, a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese navy fighter collided mid-air near the Chinese island province of Hainan, resulting in the Chinese pilot’s death. The U.S. said its plane was in international airspace and the accident was the result of reckless flying by the Chinese side.
China claims to have followed a US spy plane through the Taiwan Strait, a sensitive area that has long been a point of contention between China and Taiwan. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, has raised tensions in the region and sparked concerns about potential military confrontation.
The US spy plane, reportedly a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, was conducting a routine mission over the Taiwan Strait when it was intercepted by Chinese fighter jets. According to Chinese officials, the fighter jets followed the US plane and monitored its activities throughout the flight. The US has not confirmed or denied the incident, but it is not uncommon for US spy planes to operate in the region as part of routine surveillance missions.
The Taiwan Strait is a narrow body of water that separates Taiwan from mainland China, and it is considered a sensitive area due to the ongoing political tensions between the two sides. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan, on the other hand, considers itself a sovereign nation and has resisted Chinese attempts to assert control over the island.
The US has long been a key ally of Taiwan and has supported the island’s efforts to maintain its independence from China. The US also conducts regular military exercises in the region to demonstrate its commitment to Taiwan’s security. However, China sees these activities as provocative and a threat to its own territorial integrity.
The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions between the US and China over a range of issues, including trade, technology, and human rights. The two countries have been engaged in a bitter trade war for several years, and tensions have escalated further in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic and China’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The US has accused China of engaging in aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, where China has been building military installations on disputed islands and asserting control over strategic waterways. The US has also criticized China’s treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as its crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.
The incident in the Taiwan Strait is likely to further strain relations between the US and China and raise concerns about the potential for military conflict in the region. Both sides have called for calm and restraint, but the underlying tensions between them are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. As such, it is important for both countries to engage in dialogue and diplomacy to prevent further escalation and maintain stability in the region.
