WASHINGTON/TAIPEI: Two US warships passed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday on a voyage that will likely be viewed in the self-ruled island as a sign of support by President Donald Trump amid heightened tension with China.“Two US Navy ships conducted a routine transit through the international waters of the Taiwan Strait on July 7-8 (local time),” Captain Charlie Brown, a spokesman for US Pacific Fleet, told Reuters in a statement.“US Navy Ships transit between the South China Sea and East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait and have done so for many years,” Brown said. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the destroyers Mustin and Benfold carried out the passage.Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan´s Defense Ministry said the ships were moving in a northeastern direction, adding that the situation was in accordance with regulations. Washington has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island´s main source of arms. China regularly says Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in its ties with the United States. The passage through the Taiwan Strait, the first such one by a US Navy ship in about a year, follows a series of Chinese military drills around the island that have stoked tensions between Taipei and Beijing. The Global Times, a state-controlled Chinese newspaper, said in an editorial published on Sunday that China should remain calm and not be swayed by what it called the psychological tactics of the US.
07-09-2018, 08:49 AM
US warships pass through Taiwan Strait amid China tensions
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