US Navy aircraft flies through Taiwan Strait

A United States Navy P-8A Poseidon plane flew through the Taiwan Strait, the US 7th Fleet said on Wednesday, after US and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions.

The patrol and reconnaissance aircraft “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release.

“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.

Although the critical 160-kilometer-wide (100-mile-wide) strait that divides China from the self-governing democratic island is international waters, China considers the passage of foreign military aircraft and ships through it a challenge to its sovereignty.

Beijing claims the island of Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out using force to defend or retake if necessary despite US military support for Taipei.

China had no immediate response to the report but has in the past issued stern protests and activated defenses in response to the passage of ships and military planes through the straight, particularly those from the US.

China also regularly sends navy ships and warplanes into the strait and other areas around the island to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and seek to intimidate its 23 million people, who firmly back their de-facto independence.

“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” the 7th Fleet statement said.

“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,” it added.

The flight came a day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart Adm. Dong Jun, in the latest US effort to improve communications with Beijing’s military and reduce the chances of a clash in the region.

It was the first time Austin has talked to Dong and the first time he has spoken at length with any Chinese counterpart since November 2022. The call, which lasted a bit more than an hour, came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month for talks.

Military-to-military contact stalled in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communication after then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. China responded by firing missiles over Taiwan and staging a surge in military maneuvers, including what appeared to be a rehearsal of a naval and aerial blockade of the island.