A U.S. warship passes through the Taiwan Strait

A U.S. warship passes through the Taiwan Strait. 

Taipei: A U.S. warship passed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday. The U.S. military calls it “routine,” but China isn’t happy about it.

The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said that the USS Ralph Johnson, a guided-missile destroyer, was on a “routine” trip through international waters.

“The ship’s passage through the Taiwan Strait shows the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” 7th Fleet spokesman Nicholas Lingo said in a statement, per USA Today. When international law allows, the United States military can fly, sail, and do anything it wants.

China’s Defense Ministry didn’t answer a faxed question right away. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry sent them to the U.S. Navy in response to questions.

Last year, U.S. naval ships passed through the Strait about once a month. However, it was the first time the boat had been out since November.

China says that democratically run Taiwan is its land. It has flown its air force into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) a lot over the last two years. This has caused a lot of anger in Taipei.

Beijing says that Taiwan is the most critical and sensitive issue in its relationship with the United States.

People in the United States don’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Still, they are one of its main international backers and suppliers of guns and other weapons.