TEHRAN, Jun. 25 (MNA) – China's military said on Saturday that the recent fly through of a US maritime plane through the Taiwan Strait deliberately disrupted the regional situation and endangered peace and stability.

Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army, said in a statement that the military had organized air and ground forces to monitor the US aircraft's operation, which had taken place on Friday, Reuters reported.

He added that they firmly opposed the actions by the United States and that their troops remained high on alert.

The US navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has said previously that it has sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait while the United States and Taiwan claim that the strait separating the island from China is an international waterway.

The latest tension over the strait comes after Taiwan on Thursday said it had scrambled jets to warn away 22 Chinese aircraft in its air defense zone, the second large-scale incursion reported during the week.

Taiwan, which China considers as its own territory, has complained in recent years of repeated missions by the Chinese air force near the democratically governed island, often in the southwestern part of its air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

RHM/PR