China sends fighter jets as US Navy sends plane to Taiwan Strait

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The crossing of a US Navy patrol plane through the sensitive Taiwan Strait in international airspace on Thursday led China to scramble its fighter jets.

The event coincided with China’s ongoing military exercises, now in their third day, being conducted in southern Taiwan.

The escalating tension between Taiwan and China comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Jakarta on Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit ( Asean).

According to a statement from the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, used for anti-submarine operations, crossed the Taiwan Strait into international airspace.

By adhering to international law and operating in the Taiwan Strait, the United States reaffirms its commitment to protecting the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations, the statement said.

The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command responded by saying in its own statement that it had sent its fighter jets to monitor and warn the US aircraft.

The Chinese military described the theft as public hype.

Troops in the theater are always on high alert and will resolutely uphold national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability, the PLA Eastern Theater Command said.

Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, called the planes’ transit provocative.

During the recent period, US warships and aircraft have frequently carried out provocative actions, fully proving that the United States is a disruptor of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and a creator of risks for security in the Taiwan Strait, Shi said.

According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, Chinese fighter jets and warships conducted military drills for the third consecutive day in the south of the island on Thursday.

The ministry also reported detecting a total of 26 aircraft, including advanced Chinese J-16 and Su-30 fighters, flying seaward while responding to the presence of the US Poseidon aircraft.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the US Navy plane maintained its course along the center line of the strait and flew south on Thursday morning. He added that Taiwanese forces remain vigilant and monitor the situation closely.

Meanwhile, Mr Blinken met Mr Wang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in the Indonesian capital, Reuters reported.

Wang is China’s representative at meetings in Jakarta involving ASEAN members and partner countries. It comes after Beijing said its foreign minister Qin Gang could not attend due to health issues.

Tensions escalated between the two superpowers following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States to meet Kevin McCarthy in California in early April.

Since then, the United States has tried to defuse tensions by sending a number of its top officials to the country.

Mr. Blinken had met Mr. Qin and Mr. Wang in Beijing last month during his historic visit to China.

Earlier this month, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also visited China, and next week climate envoy John Kerry will also visit.

Last week, Daniel Kritenbrink, the US State Department’s top East Asia official, told reporters that Mr. Blinken would work with ASEAN members in Jakarta to deal with the growing actions. most unnecessary, coercive and irresponsible taken by China.

It’s not about getting countries on board with the United States’ perspective, it’s about working with our partners to advance our common perspective and vision for the region and to push back the behaviors that go against that vision, he said.

The number of visits by US officials follows another so-called high-level meeting, this time involving the presidents of the two nuclear powers.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in November this year, possibly at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit to be held in San Francisco.

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