China says tailed US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft over Taiwan Strait

The Chinese military tailed a US aircraft that was passing through the politically sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Beijing’s army said, vowing to “resolutely defend national sovereignty.”

“On September 17, a US P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait,” Li Xi, a senior captain and spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said in a statement.

The Command “organized fighter jets to tail and stand guard against the US aircraft’s flight, dealing with it in accordance with the law,” Li said.

 A US Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft flew through "international airspace" across the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the US Navy's 7th Fleet said.

"A US Navy P-8A Poseidon transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on April 17 (local time). By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," the fleet said in a statement.

The aircraft's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the statement added.