A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon assigned to Patrol Squadron 40 flies over Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Italy, Oct. 21, 2025. (Andy Anderson/U.S. Navy)
A U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft flew over the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, just weeks ahead of an anticipated visit to China by President Donald Trump.
The P-8A Poseidon — a long-range aircraft equipped with advanced sensors — flew through international airspace over the 110-mile-wide waterway that separates mainland China from Taiwan, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet.
“The aircraft’s transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Cmdr. Matthew Comer, 7th Fleet spokesman, said by email Thursday. “The United States flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows.”
Comer acknowledged requests for additional details on the flight, including whether it was prompted by a specific event or if the aircraft interacted with foreign military forces.
The Poseidon’s passage comes less than three weeks before Trump’s visit to China from March 31 to April 2, where he’s expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. White House officials confirmed the trip on Feb. 20, Reuters reported Feb. 21.
The United States routinely sends warships through the strait and, less frequently, aircraft. The Navy typically describes the passages as routine transits between the East China Sea and South China Sea, while China condemns them as provocative.
Beijing as of Thursday afternoon had not publicly commented on the transit. The state-sponsored Global Times, citing an unnamed source, reported Wednesday that the Chinese military conducted “tracking, monitoring and alert operations” and “effectively handled the situation.”
China views Taiwan, a functional democracy, as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. By extension, China also claims sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait as a whole.
Chen Binhua, a spokesman for China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in March 2024 that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese territory and there are no so-called ‘international waters’ in the Strait,” according to a news release from the office.
