China protests passage of US destroyer via Taiwan Strait

Representation pic. Pic/iStock

China on Tuesday protested the passage of a US Navy destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, calling it a deliberate move to undermine stability in the region. The US Navy said in a statement the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Tuesday in accordance with international law." It said the ship's transit "demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."

"The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows," said the statement on the website of the 7th Fleet. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said US warships have been "flexing muscle and stirring up trouble in the Taiwan Strait repeatedly in the name of freedom of navigation." "This is not a commitment to freedom and openness, but a deliberate attempt to disrupt and undermine regional peace and stability," Zhao said.

US Navy ships routinely transit the Taiwan Strait, which lies in international waters and is a main conduit between the South China Sea and northern waters used by China, Japan, South Korea, etc. China claims Taiwan as its territory to be annexed by force if necessary. The US has unofficial relations with Taiwan, but provides it defensive weapons and is legally bound to regard threats to the island as matters of "grave concern."

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