PLA Warship Warns US Navy P-8 Near Hengchun Peninsula — Claims 24nm Zone Violation

At 6:47 a.m. local time on April 3, 2026, a US Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft conducting surveillance near Taiwan's Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County received a warning from a PLA Navy warship claiming the aircraft had entered China's 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone. The US Navy maintains its legal right to operate in international airspace throughout the Western Pacific and has not acknowledged any restriction in the area. Such PLA warship warnings to US ISR aircraft are a recognized escalatory tactic designed to pressure US surveillance operations near Taiwan and normalize PRC maritime domain assertions. The incident coincides with reduced PLA air activity on April 3 (2 sorties vs. 11 on April 1), suggesting Beijing is operating on multiple coercive vectors simultaneously ahead of the KMT chair's April 7-12 China visit.