BEIJING: Two United States Navy ships sailed via the delicate Taiwan Strait this week within the first such mission since President Donald Trump took workplace final month, drawing an indignant response from China, which mentioned the mission elevated safety dangers.
The US Navy, often accompanied by ships from allied international locations, transits the strait about as soon as a month. China, which claims Taiwan as its personal territory, says the strategic waterway belongs to it.
China’s army mentioned the 2 US ships, which it named because the destroyer Lyndon B Johnson and the survey ship Bowditch, had handed via the strait between Monday (Feb 10) and Wednesday, including that Chinese language forces had been dispatched to maintain watch.
“The US motion sends the fallacious indicators and will increase safety dangers,” the Jap Theatre Command of the Individuals’s Liberation Military mentioned in an announcement early on Wednesday.
The US Navy didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
China’s army operates day by day within the strait as a part of what Taiwan’s authorities views as a part of Beijing’s strain marketing campaign.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying solely Taiwan’s individuals can determine their future.
