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China accused the U.S. of deliberately destabilizing the tense security balance in the Taiwan Strait with the flyover of a surveillance aircraft in a statement on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
Chinese forces in the Taiwan Strait, a 100-mile wide bridge of water that separates the self-governing island from mainland China, maneuvered to keep a close watch on the U.S. P-8A Poseidon spy plane as it flew past to ensure “all matters were in hand,” China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said in a social media statement, according to the AP. Beijing characterizes movements of foreign military ships and aircraft through the strait as a provocation, threatening its claim on the island.
The U.S. “deliberately disrupted and undermined the regional situation,” the PLA statement said, according to the AP.
American naval ships regularly pass through the strait in a symbolic move to bolster freedom of movement, guaranteed under international law, through the waters separating China and Taiwan.
