China protests US surveillance plane’s Taiwan Strait flight

BEIJING (AP) — China says it closely monitored the flight of a U.S. surveillance plane through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, accusing the U.S. of having “deliberately disrupted and undermined the regional situation.” The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said Chinese forces organized to keep an eye on the passage of the P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol plane and “all matters were in hand.” China regards self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and views the passage of foreign military ships and aircraft through the 100-mile-wide strait as deliberate snubs and provocations. The U.S. 7th Fleet said a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on Monday.