China is accusing the U.S. of threatening “peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” after a U.S. P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft traveled through the region on Monday, a report says.
The declaration comes as Beijing says it “has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the waters separating its mainland from Taiwan, but the U.S. and the island’s leaders argue that the area is an international waterway, according to Reuters.
“The U.S. side’s actions deliberately interfered with and disrupted the regional situation and endangered peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We firmly oppose this,” the Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army was quoted as saying.
“Theatre forces remain on high alert at all times and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it reportedly added.
CHINESE MILITARY ORDERS US PLANE AWAY FROM ITS AIRSPACE, FLIES FIGHTER JET 500 FEET FROM ITS WING
A U.S. P-8A Poseidon flies near Kanagawa, Japan, in 2020. On Monday, China took issue with one of the planes flying in the Taiwan Strait, according to a report. (Damon Coulter/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement that the U.S. aircraft flew south through the strait during a mission it described “as normal,” Reuters reports.
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A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon is seen dropping an anti-submarine torpedo. In the flight on Monday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said the plane traveled in a path it described “as normal,” according to Reuters. (U.S. Navy )
The flight happened just days after a U.S. P-8A Poseidon plane reportedly received an ominous radio warning from China as it was flying outside of Chinese airspace over the South China Sea.
Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China’s closest points from Taiwan, on Aug. 4, 2022. China has been in engaged in a territorial dispute with Taiwan. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
“No approaching any more or you will pay full responsibility,” a voice from a Chinese air force ground station said, according to NBC News.
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Shortly after, a Chinese fighter jet positioned itself about 500 feet from the left wing of the U.S. plane, which continued on its course, for over an hour before peeling away.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
