U.S. Navy Aircraft Transits Taiwan Strait Ahead of Planned Xi-Trump Meeting

AP

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A U.S. Navy aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on Friday, in a move the U.S. 7th Fleet said "demonstrates ‌the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific".

The Chinese military tracked and monitored the patrol and reconnaissance aircraft throughout the transit, the state-backed Global Times newspaper reported, citing a military source, saying the "situation was under control".

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States next month for a meeting with President Donald Trump, as Washington and Beijing seek to stabilise relations strained by disputes over Taiwan, trade and technology restrictions.

"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 said in a statement.

"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."

China says that the democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory and says it has jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan and the U.S., however, maintain that the strait is an international waterway.

Every ⁠few months, U.S. military ships or aircraft pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China — missions that anger Beijing.

Beijing has repeatedly described the Taiwan issue as an internal matter and a core national interest, warning that it represents a “red line” that must not be crossed. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, maintaining that only the people of Taiwan have the right to determine the island’s future.



PUKMEDIA