BEIJING (Kyodo) -- China on Wednesday protested the passage of two U.S. Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait, saying it increased security risks, with its military conducting patrols and an exercise near the self-ruled democratic island.
The protest over what is believed to be the first transit by U.S. Navy ships through the strait separating mainland China and the territory since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January comes amid heightened tensions as the two countries impose new tariffs on each other.
The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said the U.S. destroyer Ralph Johnson and oceanographic survey ship Bowditch passed through the strait between Monday and Wednesday. “The United States’ actions sent the wrong signals and increased security risks,” it said in a statement.
The command said it organized its navy and air force troops to monitor the whole process of the U.S. vessels’ passage.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that Beijing “firmly opposes any country provoking and threatening China’s sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation.”
Chinese state-run television reported that the Eastern Theater Command has been dispatching ships and planes to the waters around Taiwan to perform combat readiness patrols and training exercises since Jan. 28, with a naval ship holding an exercise there Wednesday.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also confirmed the transit of the U.S. naval vessels and said it had detected 30 Chinese military airplanes and seven naval ships in operation around the island in the 24-hour period through 6 a.m. Wednesday.
U.S. Navy ships have periodically passed through the Taiwan Strait since Trump’s first term, with the operations continuing under the Joe Biden administration.
Earlier this month, Trump, who took office for his second nonconsecutive term on Jan. 20, imposed a new 10 percent tariff on all Chinese products. China responded by imposing tariffs of up to 15 percent on some American imports.
China considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and opposes what it calls foreign interference in Taiwan issues.