USS Milius performed a ‘routine’ transit by means of the Taiwan Strait to display US dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific, navy says.
A United States warship has sailed by means of the Taiwan Strait in what the nation’s navy described as a routine transit, simply days after China ended its latest war games across the island.
In a press release on Monday, the US Navy’s seventh Fleet mentioned the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius sailed by means of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.
The warship performed a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” by means of waters “the place high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with worldwide legislation”, it mentioned.
The ship’s transit demonstrates Washington’s dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added.
There was no rapid remark from China.
Beijing, which views Taiwan as its personal territory, formally ended its three days of workouts round Taiwan final Monday, the place it practised precision strikes and blockading the island.
It staged the drills to specific anger at Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, viewing it as an interference in China’s inner affairs and US help for Taiwan’s separate id from China.
The US Navy sails warships by means of the Taiwan Strait round as soon as a month, and likewise commonly conducts related freedom of navigation missions within the disputed South China Sea.
Final week, the USS Milius sailed close to one of the necessary man-made and Chinese language-controlled islands within the South China Sea, Mischief Reef.
Beijing denounced it as unlawful.
China has continued its army actions round Taiwan because the drills ended, although on a decreased scale.
On Monday morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry mentioned it had noticed 18 Chinese language army plane and 4 naval vessels working round Taiwan within the earlier 24-hour interval.
China has by no means renounced using power to carry democratically ruled Taiwan below its management.
Taiwan’s authorities rejects China’s territorial claims and says solely the island’s individuals can resolve their future.