A U.S. guided-missile destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, drawing condemnation from China.
The USS Sampson conducted what was classified as a “routine” transit through the waters, which the Chinese army called a deliberate movement to undermine “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement. “The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.”
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The Chinese army said its forces remain on “high alert” so they can “resolutely defend China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The US has been frequently carrying out provocative acts to send wrong signals to ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces, deliberately undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. China is firmly opposed to this,” Col. Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said in a statement obtained by EFE.
The U.S. has conducted similar transits through the Taiwan Strait in recent months, moving the USS Ralph Johnson, another guided-missile destroyer, in February.
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Taiwan exists under near-constant threat of invasion by China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory. U.S. forces have long provided defense equipment to Taiwanese forces and condemned any Chinese threats of invasion.
