BEIJING (Dispatches) - China says the United States threatens the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, shortly after the U.S. military sent yet another warship to the sensitive waterway.
The U.S. Navy confirmed that the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur sailed through the waters near Chinese Taipei on Tuesday.
It described the sailing as a “routine transit” in accordance with international law.
“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said. “The United States military will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows.”
Chinese military forces tracked and monitored the ship throughout its voyage, said a spokesman for China’s Eastern Theater Command, who also condemned the move.
China has sovereignty over the self-ruled Chinese Taipei, and under the “One China” policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. But successive U.S. administrations and other Western governments have been courting officials in Chinese Taipei in an attempted affront to Beijing.
The U.S. has been selling weapons to Chinese Taipei and staging shows of military force around it. More recently, the U.S. has facilitated easier diplomatic contact with the self-ruled island, in violation of Chinese sovereignty and its own stated policy.
China has in response ramped up military patrols and drills near the self-ruled island in recent months, asserting its sovereignty.
Chinese Taipei remains China’s most sensitive territorial issue and a major bone of contention with Washington. China has repeatedly warned the U.S. against any formal relations with the government in Taipei.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has taken a hostile posture against China, including over Chinese Taipei. Biden dispatched a delegation to the self-ruled island last month, to “signal” his “personal” commitment to the secessionist government there.