Two U.S. Navy warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Aug. 28, the first time since the Chinese regime ramped up military pressure on the self-ruled island in retaliation to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit earlier this month.
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville were conducting a routine transit, the 7th Fleet said in a
statement. The U.S. vessels “transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State.”
“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement reads.
The Chinese military “closely follows and [monitored]” the two cruisers’ movement, Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson for Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said in a statement. Its troops are “on high alert to defeat any provocation at any time.”
U.S. Navy ships have transited the Taiwan Strait at least three times this year. The last publicized passage before the Aug. 28 operation was on July 19, when the U.S. Navy
stated that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold passed through the strait.
U.S. allies such as
Canada and the
UK also sent vessels through the narrow waterway separating Taipei from Beijing.
The communist regime in China views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, to be taken by force if necessary.
Earlier this month, the Chinese regime
began its largest joint military exercises surrounding Taiwan following Pelosi’s short trip to the island. The drills, which briefly blocked the world’s key shipping lanes, saw the Chinese military send warplanes and ships to encircle the island. The regime
fired at least 11 hypersonic missiles, five of which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic waters.
The aggression against Taiwan continued on Aug. 28. Taiwan’s defense ministry
reported that eight vessels and 23 aircraft were seen in its surrounding region.
In response, Taiwan’s military scrambled fighters, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the activity, according to the defense ministry.
In a separate Aug. 28
statement, the defense ministry noted that its forces were observing water and air around the island.
“The situation is normal,” the statement reads.
Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to the report.
