First US Navy warship passes through Taiwan Strait post-election
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The United States Navy sailed its warship through the Taiwan Strait following the recent elections in Taiwan.
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The US Navy is sailing the USS Chancellorsville and the USS Antietam warships through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, August 28, 2022. (AP)
The US Navy sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a move that sparked disapproval from Beijing.
The destroyer USS John Finn, as confirmed by the US Navy, passed through a pathway in the Taiwan Strait that extends "beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state," following presidential and parliamentary elections on the island.
The US Navy said in its statement that "John Finn's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle."
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In China, the Chinese military said the mission was "public hyping" and that its forces monitored and warned the ship. "Recently, the US military has frequently carried out provocative acts to maliciously undermine regional peace and stability," the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported that the ship sailed southward through the strait, stating that it closely monitored the movement and characterized the situation as "normal."
The US Navy's most recent disclosure of a warship passing through the strait occurred in early November, and during that instance, it was accompanied by a Canadian frigate.
China slams US 'provocation' in Taiwan Strait, pledges further drills
On Thursday, China criticized the United States for creating "trouble and provocation" following the US Navy's navigation of its warship through the Strait.
"US warships and planes have caused trouble and provocation on China's doorstep, and carried out large-scale, high-frequency activities in waters and airspace around China," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian told reporters at a monthly briefing.
Wu said China's response in driving away the ship was "justified, reasonable, professional and restrained".
