(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- China denounced on Monday the flyover of a US P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft through the Taiwan Strait, saying the US side hyped it publicly.
'The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command had organized troops to track and monitor the US aircraft in the whole course, and had everything under control,' Army Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the command's spokesman, said in a statement.
'China firmly opposes the US' action, which has deliberately disrupted the regional situation and jeopardized the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,' Shi stressed. According to the spokesman, the troops of the command remain on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Earlier in the day, the 7th Fleet under the US Pacific Command said in a statement that the US Navy P-8A Poseidon transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace to demonstrate Washington's 'commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.'
'By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the US upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,' the Navy's 7th Fleet said.
China and Taiwan separated after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still sees the island as its territory. (end)
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