China sent military planes to track a U.S. anti-submarine Navy aircraft as it transited the Taiwan Strait, Beijing says, as tension mounts between the superpowers.

A P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew through the strait’s international space “in accordance with international law," the Navy said.

China's military said on Tuesday it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and warn a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denouncing the United States for trying to "mislead" the international community.

BEIJING >> China’s military said on Tuesday it deployed naval and air forces to monitor and warn a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denouncing the United States for trying to “mislead” the international community.

Around once a month, US military ships or aircraft pass through or above the waterway that separates democratically governed Taiwan from China - missions that always anger Beijing. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the strait.

The U.S. Navy's 7th fleet said a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday."By operating

American military ships and aircraft regularly transit the waterway separating China from self-ruled Taiwan but a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was trailed by the Chinese.