The US warship USS Milius sailed through the Taiwan Strait yesterday, in what the US Navy described as a "routine" transit, just days after China ended its latest war games around the island.
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, officially ended its three days of exercises around Taiwan last Monday where it practiced precision strikes and blockading the island.
The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius conducted a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" through waters "where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law".
The ship's transit demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added.
Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command said in a social media post today it organised troops to follow and monitor the US destroyer throughout its operation.
Taiwan's defence ministry said the ship sailed in a northerly direction through the strait and that during its transit the situation in the strait was "as normal".
The US Navy sails warships through the strait around once a month, and also regularly conducts similar freedom of navigation missions in the disputed South China Sea.
Last week, the USS Milius sailed near one of the most important man-made and Chinese controlled islands in the South China Sea, Mischief Reef. Beijing denounced it as illegal.
China has continued its military activities around Taiwan since the drills ended, though on a reduced scale.
This morning, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had spotted 18 Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels operating around Taiwan in the previous 24 hour period.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring democratically governed Taiwan under its control.
Taiwan's government rejects China's territorial claims, and says only the island's people can decide their future
Read more: Taiwan heading for 'stormy seas' under President Tsai - China
Led by the United States, multiple Western navies regularly conduct "freedom of navigation operations" to assert the international status of regional waterways such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
This was the first such US operation through the waterway since January.
The US 7th Fleet shared images Monday on Twitter of crew looking out into the strait, one of the most crucial waterways in the world for international shipping.
USS Milius (DDG 69) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit April 16 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.
— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) April 17, 2023
Click here to read more:https://t.co/kVeETF1HUi pic.twitter.com/IzEOPA1T0Y
War games
On the final day of last week's drills, Taiwan's defence ministry said 54 Chinese planes crossed into Taiwan's southwestern and southeastern air defence identification zone (ADIZ) - the highest recorded in a single day since October 2021.
That same day, the USS Milius sailed through waters claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.
That deployment triggered condemnation from China, which said the vessel had "illegally intruded" into its territorial waters.
Since the war games ended, Chinese warships and aircraft have continued to circle Taiwan.
Today, Taipei's defence ministry said it had detected four warships and 18 aircraft, four of which had crossed its southwestern ADIZ.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon sailed through the Taiwan Strait on 5 January, months after Mr McCarthy's predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited the island.
Ms Pelosi's trip sparked China's largest-ever war games around Taiwan.
