_Boeing_P-8A_Poseidon.jpg){kind=link}
"A US Navy P-8A Poseidon transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on April 17 (local time). By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," the fleet said in a statement.
The aircraft's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the statement added.
In mid-April, the US 7th Fleet issued a similar statement that a P-8A Poseidon had flown through the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, China's military said it had escorted the US aircraft during its passage, saying that the Chinese forces maintain a high level of readiness to firmly defend national sovereignty, security, and regional peace and stability.
Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.