The US Navy has sent vessels through the Strait on four occasions since July 2018.
The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/25
By: Nick Aspinwall
Credit: US Navy
CNN reported on Thursday that the U.S. Navy sailed two warships through the contentious Taiwan Strait, while Taiwan’s defense ministry said China flew multiple military aircraft close to the island’s southern tip for a training exercise on the same day.
The guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell and USNS Walter S. Diehl sailed through the Strait in what U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman told CNN was a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” that was “in accordance with international law.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed the move later on Thursday, according to CNA. The defense ministry offered no further comment aside from saying Taiwan’s military is in control of the situation.
The U.S. Navy sailed vessels through the Taiwan Strait last July before sending surface combatants through the Strait in October and November. Beijing responded to the latter two passages by sending multiple Chinese warships into the area. [FULL STORY]
