A U.S. surveillance aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Sept. 17 as part of what the 7th Fleet said to be protected freedom of navigation exercises, drawing Beijing’s ire.
The 100-mile-wide waterway separates communist China from the democratic-governed Taiwan. Despite being recognized as international waters, the Chinese regime asserts that it falls under its jurisdiction and views any passage by foreign powers as a challenge to its sovereignty.
“The aircraft’s transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Fleet stated.
The Chinese military sent fighter jets to follow the U.S. patrol aircraft, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Theater troops are on high alert at all times,“ Adm. Li Xi, spokesperson for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, said in the statement, vowing to ”resolutely defend national sovereignty and security.”
The heightened tensions across the major trade corridor, through which almost 50 percent of the world’s container fleet passes every year, has sparked concerns among the world’s major economies.
“We firmly oppose provocations and endangerment of China’s sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular briefing in Beijing before the passage was confirmed.
In response, a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson defended the decision and said Berlin was not required to notify any nations.
“Under international maritime law, it is quite normal that no notification is required in international waters and that you can navigate through these freely,” the spokesperson said at a regular briefing on Sept. 13.
The U.S. transit came a day after Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall sounded alarms about the CCP’s growing military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
Kendall said he observed a growing unease regarding Beijing’s capabilities and intentions during his visits to the Indo-Pacific region over the past 15 years. He cited that the Chinese wargames near Taiwan have become more advanced.
“I am not saying war in the Pacific is imminent or inevitable. It is not,” Kendall said. “But I am saying that the likelihood is increasing and will continue to do so.”
The Chinese military has ramped up activities around Taiwan in recent years. During a May drill, China dispatched 111 military aircraft and 46 naval vessels to the air and water around Taiwan, according to the defense ministry in Taipei.
Kendall said the threats from the CCP or the PLA are “serious.”
“China is not a future threat. China is a threat today,” he said.