US says navy aeroplane transits Taiwan Strait

BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in what the U.S. called a show of commitment to free and open international airspace, prompting China to scramble fighters over a waterway it calls its own.

"By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations," the U.S. 7th Fleet said of the P-8A Poseidon's flight.

China, which claims sovereignty over democratically-governed Taiwan, calls Western military transits in the area provocations. The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army said jets were scrambled to monitor and "alert" the U.S. aircraft.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has over the past five years stepped up military activities around the island, including war games.

Last week, two German navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait in the first such transit in two decades, in a show of Berlin's resolve to stand with Western allies over Taiwan.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Andrew Cawthorne)

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