China scrambles fighter jets after US Navy sends plane through Taiwan Strait

The traversing of a US Navy patrol plane into the sensitive Taiwan Strait within international airspace on Thursday led to China scrambling its fighter jets.

The event coincided with China’s ongoing military exercises, now in their third day, conducted to the south of Taiwan.

The escalation of tensions between Taiwan and China come as US secretary of state Antony Blinken held a meeting with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Jakarta on Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.

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

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

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command responded by saying in their own statement that they sent their fighter jets to monitor and warn the US plane.

China’s military described the flight as “public hype”.

“Troops in the theatre are always on high alert and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command said.

Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, called the aircraft’s transit “provocative”.

“In the recent period, US warships and planes have frequently carried out provocative actions, fully proving that the US is a disruptor of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and a creator of security risks in the Taiwan Strait,” Mr Shi said.

According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, Chinese warplanes and warships conducted military exercises for a third consecutive day to 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 towards the open ocean while “responding to” the presence of the US Poseidon aircraft.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said the US Navy aircraft maintained its course along the median line of the strait and flew southward during the morning of Thursday. It added that Taiwan’s forces remained vigilant and monitored the situation closely.

Meanwhile, Mr Blinken met with Mr Wang on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Indonesia’s capital, Reuters reported.

Mr Wang is serving as China’s representative at the Jakarta meetings involving the Asean members and partner countries. This comes after Beijing said its foreign minister Qin Gang would be unable to attend due to health concerns.

Tensions have escalated between the two superpowers following the visit of Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen to the US to meet Kevin McCarthy in California in early April.

Since then, the US has attempted to defuse tensions by sending a number of its top officials to the country.

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

Earlier this month, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen also paid a visit to China, and in the next week, climate envoy John Kerry will be going there as well.

Last week, Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US state department official for East Asia, told reporters that Mr Blinken would collaborate with Asean members in Jakarta to address “increasingly unhelpful, coercive, and irresponsible actions” taken by China.

“It is not a matter of getting countries on board with the US view, it’s a matter of working with our partners to advance our shared view and vision for the region and to push back on behaviour that runs counter to that vision,” he said.

The number of visits by the US officials have come on the heels of another purported high-profile meeting, this time involving the presidents of both the 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 that will take place in San Francisco.