A U.S. warship passed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, part of what the U.S. military calls routine activity but one which angered China.
In recent times, warships from the United States and sometimes from allied countries similar to the United Kingdom and Canada have passed through the strait, drawing the ire of China, which is demanding Taiwan against the opposition of its democratically elected government.
In a press release, the U.S. Army said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Chung Hoon made the transit.
“Chung-Hoon’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement added.
In a press release, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said China strongly opposes the move and urged the United States to “immediately stop frightening trouble, escalating tensions, and undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
“U.S. warships often flex their muscles in the name of having fun with freedom of navigation. It is not about making the region free and open,” the statement said.
![US Navy Lieutenant Hillary Lutkus works aboard the USS Chung-Hoon. US Navy Lieutenant Hillary Lutkus works aboard the USS Chung-Hoon.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/USS-Taiwan-Strait2.jpg?w=682)
![US Navy Lieutenant Alec Pagach aboard the USS Chung-Hoon.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/USS-Taiwan-Strait1.jpg?w=682)
“China will remain on high alert and prepared to reply to any threats and provocations at any time, and can resolutely protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
A spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said that detachments had been organized to watch and protect the ship’s transit, and “all movements were under control.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said the ship was heading north through the strait, and its forces monitored its passage and didn’t observe anything unusual.
The Taiwan Narrow Strait has been a frequent source of military tension since the defeated ROC government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists who formed the People’s Republic of China.
The USA doesn’t maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is legally obligated to supply the island with a method of self-defense.
China has never ruled out using force to take control of Taiwan. Taiwan guarantees to defend itself if attacked, claiming that Beijing’s claim to sovereignty is invalid because the People’s Republic of China has never ruled the island.
A Chinese military plane got here inside 10 feet of a US Air Force plane in the disputed South China Sea last month and compelled it to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace.
The close encounter followed what the United States called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.