The American navy said that two American warships passed across the Taiwan Strait on Sunday. This was the first crossing since China conducted unusual military exercises near the island.
The transit “demonstrates the United States’ dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to a statement from the US Navy. Following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei this month, tensions in the Taiwan Strait reached their highest point in years.
Beijing reacted angrily and organised days of air and sea drills near Taiwan. The drills and missile testing were denounced by Taipei as invasion preparations.
Taiwan is constantly in danger of being invaded by China, which considers the democratic, self-governing island to be a portion of its territory that will one day be taken, by force if necessary.
Washington preserves de facto relations with Taiwan and supports the island’s ability to determine its own future while diplomatically favouring Beijing over Taipei.
The USS Antietam and the USS Chancellorsville, two guided-missile cruisers of the Ticonderoga class, carried out the “routine” transit on Sunday “through waters where high seas rights of navigation and overflight apply in line with international law,” according to the US 7th Fleet.
In a statement, it was stated that “These ships transited via a corridor in the Strait that is outside the territorial sea of any coastal State.”
“Wherever international law permits, the United States military flies, sails, and conducts operations.”
A key component of the U.S. navy’s presence in the Pacific is the 7th fleet, which is located in Japan.
To further the idea that these seas are international waterways, the US and its Western allies have boosted “freedom of navigation” crossings by Navy vessels of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, angering Beijing.
Washington claims that its position on Taiwan is unchanging and accuses China of endangering regional stability by using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse for military drills.
For the first time since the mid-1990s, China’s drills involved shooting numerous ballistic missiles into the waters off Taiwan, which are among the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
Taiwan organised its own exercises, simulating an invading defence, and demonstrated its most modern fighter plane in a rare midnight display.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the sabre-rattling toward Taiwan has intensified.
