Washington: The US Navy reported that on Thursday, an American warship passed through the Taiwan Strait, likely to enrage Beijing.
“Conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Jan. 5 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the Navy stated in a statement regarding the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon.
“The United States’ dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific is demonstrated by Chung-Hoon’s passage through the Taiwan Strait. “Wherever international law permits, the United States military flies, sails, and operates,” it added.
China constantly threatens to invade Taiwan, claiming the democratic, self-governing island as part of its territory that could be taken by force at any time.
While Washington maintains de facto relations with Taiwan and supports the island’s right to choose its own future, it diplomatically recognizes Beijing over Taipei.
Read: TAIWAN A FLASHPOINT IN U.S CHINA RIVALRY
In August 2022, after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei amid China’s warnings, tensions in the Taiwan Strait reached their highest level in several years. As a strong response to the US official’s visit, Beijing staged days of air and sea exercises around the island.
During her brief visit to Taiwan, Pelosi, the highest-ranking American visitor in 25 years, pledged American support for the country’s democratic system. She asserted that the ire of China could not prevent world leaders from traveling there.
In protest, China held a meeting with the US ambassador in Beijing and halted several Taiwanese agricultural imports.
Source: AFP