US plan to deploy HIMARS on the Japanese islands of Nansei is primarily aimed at protecting Taiwan from Chinese warships, analysts say, and is prompting opposition replies from Beijing and Moscow

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.

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.

The American reconnaissance aircraft P-8A Poseidon flew over the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, prompting an immediate reaction from the Chinese military. In response, China scrambled fighter jets and urged the U.