The Chinese military said it scrambled fighter jets on April 17 against a U.S. Navy plane that had "publicly hyped" its flight through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
Colonel Li Xi, a spokesperson for China's Eastern Theater Command, whose area of responsibility includes the potential capture of neighboring Taiwan, said Chinese forces dispatched interceptors to "monitor and warn" an American P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
China's troops would remain on "high alert" to defend the country's sovereignty and security, the theater command said in a brief statement on its social media channels.
Chinese officials previously questioned the legality of the U.S.'s frequent operations in the strait, part of their broader complaints about what they call regular "close-in reconnaissance" near China's extensive coastline.
China's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to Newsweek's written request for comment.
The P-8A transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace, according to a statement by the Navy's Seventh Fleet, which is based in Japan.
"By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," it added.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said the aircraft transited the strait from north to south, and that "no anomaly was detected" around the island during the operation.
Beijing claims self-governed Taiwan as its own, although China's long-ruling Communist Party has never governed there, and despite Taipei's repeated rejection of Beijing's sovereignty claim.
The United States has not maintained formal diplomatic ties with the island's government for over four decades but remains its strongest international backer and main arms supplier.
On April 12, the U.S. State Department told Newsweek it strongly objected to the Chinese government's decision to sanction units under American defense companies General Atomics and General Dynamics for manufacturing weapons for Taipei.
The P-8A, an airframe designed for anti-submarine warfare, can carry conventional weapons, including laser-guided anti-ship missiles. The Navy last sent one through the strait in December, a move that drew a similar response from China.
The Pentagon uses strait transits to signal resolve to allies and adversaries. The USS John Finn, an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer, sailed through the busy waterway in March after previously doing so in January in what has become a routine exercise.
The U.S. has conducted two Taiwan Strait transits this year, after 11 in 2023 and 10 in 2022.
In the statement announcing the transit, the Seventh Fleet said, "The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows."
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivered a similar message to his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun on April 16 when the pair spoke via video link, according to the Pentagon.
It was Austin's first call with a Chinese defense minister in almost 18 months.
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John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
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