US navy aircraft transits Taiwan Strait ahead of Trump’s planned China visit

TAIPEI, March 11 (Reuters) – A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on Wednesday, in a move the U.S. 7th Fleet said “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The transit precedes U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned visit to China this month as Washington and Beijing look to stabilise ties marred by issues including Taiwan, trade disputes and technology curbs.

“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.

Chinese naval and air forces tracked, monitored and conducted alert operations throughout the process, state-backed Global Times reported, citing a source, saying the Chinese military “effectively handled the situation.”

U.S. military ships or aircraft routinely pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China – missions that always anger Beijing.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the U.S. dispute that, saying the strait is an international waterway.

China has repeatedly said the Taiwan issue is its internal affair and at the core of Beijing’s interests – a red line that must not be crossed or trampled on.

Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard, Editing by Mark Potter and Saad Sayeed)