US warplane flies along dividing line between mainland China and Taiwan
- Taipei says ‘nothing abnormal detected’ during Thursday’s flight
- MC-130J tanker travelled from Okinawa base to Taiwan Strait before heading southeast to Bashi Strait
A US warplane flew along the line dividing the Taiwan Strait between mainland China and Taiwan on Thursday, according to the island’s defence ministry.
The MC-130J Commando tanker aircraft flew along the “median line” at around 11am on Thursday, heading from north to south, the ministry said. “During the flight there was nothing abnormal detected.”
The aircraft left Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, before flying through the Taiwan Strait and heading southeast towards the Bashi Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, a B-52H bomber departed the Andersen Base in Guam and jetted into the South China Sea via the Bashi Strait south of Taiwan, while a US RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft also flew south of Taiwan in the South China Sea.
US warship sails through strategic Taiwan Strait
It was an unusual move for a US warplane to make an appearance in the highly sensitive area between the mainland and Taiwan. The so-called median line is a widely agreed boundary running through the middle of the strait. It dates from the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province, to be reunited by force if necessary. The US ended its diplomatic recognition and formal defence alliance with Taiwan in 1979 but has continued to offer informal support, including arms sales – most recently a US$8 billion deal to supply F-16V fighter jets.
The US 2020 National Defence Authorisation Act calls on the American military to strengthen US-Taiwan military cooperation and improve the island’s defences to counter the fast-growing strength of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
As tensions between Beijing and Washington have mounted, the US has passed a series of pro-Taiwan bills and US naval and coastguard vessels have also passed through the strait several times this year.
Although the central part of the 200km (124-mile) wide strait is in international waters and airspace, China often hits out when US or other Western navy ships pass through.
Chinese military starts Taiwan Strait drills amid rising tension
As cross-strait relations have deteriorated in recent years, the PLA Air Force and Navy have also stepped up their air and sea patrols around the island, including through the strait.
For the most part, the PLA does not cross the median line, although on March 31 two J-11 fighter jets crossed to the eastern side of the line for about 10 minutes.
In June, the aircraft carrier Liaoning led a strike group through the strait, after touring the west Pacific and South China Sea, but did not cross the median line.
