US warship sails through Taiwan Strait

The US guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon transited through the neutral waters of the Taiwan strait in a demonstration of the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, the 7th Fleet Public Affairs has said.

"The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit Jan. 5 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law," the US 7th Fleet Public Affairs said in a press release. "The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State."

The US military statement said Chung-Hoon's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. "The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows."

Earlier in December, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged the United States to abide by the "one-China principle" and the provisions of the three joint China-US communiques.

Beijing has asked Washington to stop selling arms to Taiwan, cut US-Taiwan military ties and stop creating new tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August last year. Beijing condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island.

Despite this fact, several countries, including France, Japan and others, have sent their delegations to the island since then.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan - a territory with its own elected government - maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence.

Beijing opposes any official contact of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.