External Keyboard + Voiceover focus not working with .searchable + List

While editing the search text using the external keyboard (with VoiceOver on), if I try to navigate the to List using the keyboard, the focus jumps back to the search field immediately, preventing selection of list items. It's important to note that the voiceover navigation alone without a keyboard works as expected.

It’s as if the List never gains focus—every attempt to move focus lands back on the search field.

The code:

struct ContentView: View { @State var searchText = ""

let items = ["Apple", "Banana", "Cherry", "Date", "Elderberry", "Fig", "Grape"]

var filteredItems: [String] {
    if searchText.isEmpty {
        return items
    } else {
        return items.filter { $0.localizedCaseInsensitiveContains(searchText) }
    }
}

var body: some View {
    if #available(iOS 16.0, *) {
        NavigationStack {
            List(filteredItems, id: \.self) { item in
                Text(item)
            }
            .navigationTitle("Fruits")
            .searchable(text: $searchText)

        }
    } else {
        NavigationView {
            List(filteredItems, id: \.self) { item in
                Text(item)
            }
            .navigationTitle("Fruits")
            .searchable(text: $searchText)
        }
    }
}

}