U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft transits Taiwan Strait
ROC Central News Agency
04/28/2023 08:19 PM
Taipei, April 28 (CNA) A U.S. Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait on Friday, in the wake of China sending 19 planes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The P-8A Poseidon's flight on Friday "demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the U.S. 7th Fleet under the U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement.
"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.
"The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows including within the Taiwan Strait."
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed the passage, saying the U.S. aircraft flew northwards in the Taiwan Strait and that it did not see anything out of the ordinary.
Earlier in the day, the MND said a total of 38 Chinese military aircraft and six Chinese naval vessels were spotted operating in the vicinity of Taiwan between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday.
Nineteen of the aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan's ADIZ, including a TB-001 unmanned aerial vehicle that almost flew around the island, according to the ministry.
U.S. warships have been making routine, almost monthly, passages through the waterway separating Taiwan and China over the past three years as tensions across the strait have escalated, but it is less common for a U.S. warplane to do so.
The last time a U.S. warplane, also a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon, flew over the waterway was on Feb. 27, 2023.
(By Wu Sheng-hung and Y.F. Low)
Enditem/ASG
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