US and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday following weekend remarks from President Joe Biden that the US would defend Taiwan in the event it is attacked by China.
A US Navy ship, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, conducted a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" on Tuesday, US Navy spokesperson Lt. Mark Langford said in a statement.
The US ship conducted the transit "in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver," Langford said.
The two ships "transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State," Lt. Langford said. The transit "demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Lt. Langford added, CNN reported.
China condemned the mission, saying its forces "warned" the ships.
Tuesday's transit marked the second time in just over three weeks that a US Navy warship had made the voyage. The guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville did so on August 28.
Though the US called the transit "routine," it comes after Biden added fuel to tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, telling CBS's "60 Minutes" that he would use US troops to defend the island if China tried to attack.
ZZ/PR
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