China’s military said on Sunday it is monitoring US naval vessels passing through the Taiwan Strait and remains on high alert in preparation to repel any provocations.
The guided-missile cruisers Chance Lursville and Antietam “passed through the Taiwan Strait” on Sunday in accordance with international law, the US Navy said.
The Navy said in a statement that the transit of the two ships “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait peaked following a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in early August, which provoked an angry response from Beijing, which staged its largest military exercise in the vicinity of the island.
On August 12, Washington announced its intention to strengthen trade ties with Taiwan and asserted its right to free movement by air and sea across the strait separating the island from China, in response to Beijing’s “provocative” behavior.
Kurt Campbell, the White House’s Asia-Pacific coordinator and adviser to US President Joe Biden, said Beijing is using Pelosi’s visit to launch a campaign of intense pressure on Taiwan to change the status quo and jeopardize peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and Used in the Taiwan Strait. wider area.”
He announced that US forces would assert their right to use the international air and sea space between China and Taiwan, “including normal air and sea transit operations through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks.”
China considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and vows to take it back even by force if necessary.
Source: Lebanon Debate
