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US warship transits sensitive Taiwan Strait
The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson was conducting a "routine" transit through international waters.
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In this image obtained from the US Department of Defense, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd transits the Pacific Ocean on January 25, 2020. The US Navy said on April 24, 2020, that 18 sailors aboard the Kidd, currently patrolling the Caribbean, had tested positive for coronavirus, forcing the ship to head back to port. After one sailor aboard the Kidd who had come down with symptoms was evacuated, a medical team dispatched to the ship found another 17 were infected, the Navy said in a statement. (AFP/Sean Lynch)
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US warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Saturday, part of what the US military calls routine activity, which nonetheless irritates China.
The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson was conducting a "routine" transit through international waters.
"The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," 7th Fleet spokesperson Nicholas Lingo said in a statement. "The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows."
China's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. Taiwan's Defence Ministry referred questions to the US Navy.
Last year, US naval ships transited the Strait roughly monthly. Saturday's sailing was the first since November.
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has mounted repeated air force missions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the past two years, provoking anger in Taipei.
Beijing calls Taiwan the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with Washington.
Like most countries, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and arms supplier.
