The U.S. Navy has sent ships through the Taiwan Strait, as Washington ramps up naval activities in the waterway stoking criticism from Beijing on Tuesday after a similar sailing just a month ago.
The move, likely to be interpreted by China as implicit support for self-ruled Taiwan, saw the U.S. Navy send the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Stethem destroyer and the cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez, through the strait on Monday and Tuesday, a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman said.
The two vessels "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait Transit on Feb. 25-26, in accordance with international law," U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman Lt. Joe Keiley told The Japan Times. "This routine transit demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows."