The US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS Milius sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday in what the US Navy called a “routine” transit.
The transit was made “through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said in a statement.
“The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” it said.
Photo: Reuters
“Milius’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it added.
The Ministry of National Defense confirmed the transit, saying in a statement that the military had a full grasp of the situation as the warship sailed north through the Strait, adding that it did not spot any irregularities.
US naval vessels sail through the Strait about once a month and also regularly conduct freedom of navigation missions in the disputed South China Sea.
Photo: AP / US Navy
The Milius’ transit came after China held military exercises around Taiwan from April 8 to 10, during which dozens of Chinese military aircraft and warships crossed the median line of the Strait and flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
The drills followed a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Simi Valley, California, on April 5.
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