A U.S. Navy destroyer conducted a passage through the increasingly militarized Taiwan Strait on Thursday, following a week in which Chinese forces ramped up their warplane and warship activities around the island.
The USS Ralph Johnson, a guided-missile destroyer, made a routine transit through the 100-mile-wide strait in accordance with international law, according to a statement from the Navy’s 7th Fleet. This marked the first time in three months that an American naval vessel had transited the strait and the fourth such operation this year.
The U.S. Navy has been conducting these passages on a near-monthly basis to challenge China’s expansive claims that the Taiwan Strait is part of its sovereign maritime territory.
Prior to this, the last U.S. warship to navigate the strait was the USS Halsey on May 8, accompanied by a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft that also flew over the strait in May. Similar Navy passages took place on March 5 and January 24.
China’s military closely monitored the USS Ralph Johnson during its passage. A spokesman for China’s eastern theater command, Col. Xi Li, stated that naval and air forces were organized to track the ship. He further claimed on social media that the U.S. had “publicly hyped up” the transit.