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US Warship Sails Through Taiwan Strait

by Reuters

   WASHINGTON --

   A U.S. warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, part of
   what the U.S. military calls routine activity but which riles China.

   In recent years, U.S. warships, and on occasion those from allied
   nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait,
   drawing the ire of China, which claims Taiwan against the objections of
   its democratically elected government.

   In a statement, the U.S. military said the Arleigh Burke-class
   guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon carried out 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.

   Taiwan's Defense Ministry said the ship sailed in a northerly direction
   through the strait, that its forces had monitored its passage and
   observed nothing out of the ordinary.

   The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a
   request for comment.

   The narrow Taiwan Strait has been a frequent source of military tension
   since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949
   after losing a civil war with the communists, who established the
   People's Republic of China.

   The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is
   bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

   China has never ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its
   control. Taiwan vows to defend itself if attacked, saying Beijing's
   sovereignty claims are void as the People's Republic of China has never
   governed the island.

   A Chinese military plane came within 3 meters of a U.S. Air Force
   aircraft in the contested South China Sea last month and forced it to
   take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace.

   The close encounter followed what the United States has called a recent
   trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.