Business Times
Date: .January 03, 2021
By: Artie Villasanta
US Navy Sailors aboard a warship. [Photo: US-Navy /Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor D. Blake/Handout via REUTERS/3rd Party Image
China blasted the New Year's Eve transit of the Taiwan Strait by two U.S. Navy destroyers, making its anger known by having the Ministry of Defense issue the official condemnation instead of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
The defense ministry on Friday said the unopposed transit of the strait separating China from the Republic of China (Taiwan) by the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) indicates the "incumbent U.S. administration's desperate destructive acts." It said a two warship sail-through "is rare," noting this new provocation came after a previous one by another U.S. Navy destroyer on December 13.
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin assailed the U.S. warships' frequent provocations and urged the U..S to play a constructive role in fostering regional peace and stability, and "not the opposite."
Chinese military pundits noted the ministry delivering the rebuke to the U.S. was intended to show the incoming administration of Joe Biden no country will be allowed to challenge China's core interests. Biden will be formally sworn-in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20.
[FULL STORY]
