USS Milius carried out a ‘routine’ transit via the Taiwan Strait to reveal US dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific, navy says.
A United States warship has sailed via the Taiwan Strait in what the nation’s navy described as a routine transit, simply days after China ended its newest battle video games across the island.
In an announcement on Monday, the US Navy’s seventh Fleet stated the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius sailed via the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.
The warship carried out a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” via waters “the place high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with worldwide legislation”, it stated.
The ship’s transit demonstrates Washington’s dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added.
There was no speedy remark from China.
Beijing, which views Taiwan as its personal territory, formally ended its three days of workout routines round Taiwan final Monday, the place it practised precision strikes and blockading the island.
It staged the drills to precise anger at Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s assembly with US Home of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, viewing it as an interference in China’s inner affairs and US help for Taiwan’s separate identification from China.
The US Navy sails warships via the Taiwan Strait round as soon as a month, and likewise repeatedly conducts comparable freedom of navigation missions within the disputed South China Sea.
Final week, the USS Milius sailed close to one of the essential 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 lowered scale.
On Monday morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry stated 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 pressure to deliver democratically ruled Taiwan beneath its management.
Taiwan’s authorities rejects China’s territorial claims and says solely the island’s individuals can determine their future.
