
A U.S. Navy warship passed through the Taiwan Strait for the second time this year, provoking stern denunciation from China.
China criticized the “provocative” move after the guided-missile destroyer, the USS Ralph Johnson, entered the contested waters, according to a news release, Stars and Stripes reported.
The naval ship’s thru-route was “routine,” 7th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nicholas Lingo said in a news release, Reuters reported. “The ship is transiting 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,” said Lingo. “The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows.”
