US warship transits Taiwan Strait

A US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the American navy said, in the first such voyage since the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer conducted a routine transit through the waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

US warships periodically conduct navigation exercises in the strait, often triggering angry responses from China which claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory.

Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially a breach of its sovereignty – while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all.

The voyage by the USS John S. McCain “demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Seventh Fleet statement said.