A US warship crossed the Taiwan Strait, prompting an angry response from China.
The US Navy said the USS Halsey conducted a “routine test Taiwan “Transit through the strait” on Wednesday, “through waters where freedoms of navigation and overflight on the high seas apply in accordance with international law.”
The guided-missile destroyer traversed a corridor “beyond the territorial sea” of any coastal state, according to a statement from the Navy’s Seventh Fleet.
“Halsey’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a matter of principle,” he said.
“No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms.
“He USA military fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said its forces had monitored the situation and did not observe anything unusual.
But the Chinese military described the move as “public exaggeration” and said it had sent naval and air forces to monitor and warn the ship and “deal with it in accordance with the law and regulations.”
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Taiwan is a democratic and autonomous island that Porcelain considers its own and fears about a possible invasion have persisted for years
China also claims jurisdiction over the strait, which is about 100 miles wide at its narrowest point, but the United States and Taiwan say they are international waters.
American warships and occasionally U.S. Navy aircraft pass through the waterway about once a month.
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The latest trip comes less than two weeks before Taiwan’s new president takes office.
President-elect William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing considers a dangerous separatist, will be sworn in on May 20.
His Democratic Progressive Party favors Taiwan’s de facto independent status, maintaining strong unofficial relations with the United States and other major nations.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
