Taipei: During a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over Chinese-claimed Taiwan, a US and a Canadian warship navigated through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, according to the US Navy. This was a rare joint mission in the strategically important waterway.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian ship HMCS Montreal made a "routine" transit of the strait, according to the US Navy's 7th Fleet, "through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law."
"Chung-Hoon and Montreal's bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement read.
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Even though US warships usually pass through the strait once a month, it is unusual for them to do so.
The mission was conducted while the US and Chinese defence chiefs were in Singapore for a significant regional security summit.
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At that time, Taiwan and the South China Sea territorial disputes were the main points of contention between the superpowers, and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin chastised China for refusing to hold military talks.
The Chinese military, which regularly accuses the sailing of being an attempt by the US to inflame tensions, made no immediate comment in response to the sailing. In the confined strait, the last such publicly disclosed US-Canadian mission occurred in September.
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In an effort to pressure Taiwan into accepting Beijing's sovereignty claims, which the Taipei government vehemently rejects, China has increased military and political pressure.