• The US Navy has stated that two US warships are transiting the Taiwan Strait.
• It is the first such operation since Taiwan and China’s relations soured as a result of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan earlier this month.
• China retaliated by conducting extensive military exercises nearby.

The US Navy has stated that two US warships are transiting the Taiwan Strait. It is the first such operation since Taiwan and China’s relations soured as a result of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan earlier this month.

China retaliated by conducting extensive military exercises nearby.

In recent years, the US and other Western navies have frequently navigated the strait.

The USS Antietam and the USS Chancellorsville, two guided-missile cruisers, are allegedly displaying freedom of navigation in international waters, according to Washington.

Such acts are seen as provocative by Beijing, which also contends that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory.

According to a news source, on Sunday, its military declared that it was keeping a close eye on the two warships’ passage, maintaining a high alert, and prepared to repel any provocations.

The trip in the Taiwan Strait, according to the US Navy” United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

“These ships transited through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” the statement added.

The ships were traveling in a southerly direction, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry, and its personnel was keeping watch, but “the situation was as normal,” it added.

Although Taiwan is autonomous, China views it as a separatist province that it would eventually reunite, possibly via force.

In recent years, Taiwan has grown into another bone of contention between Washington and Beijing, with the US treading carefully in terms of diplomacy.

Because of its adherence to the “One China” policy, which recognizes only one Chinese government, the US maintains formal connections with Beijing and not Taiwan. This stance is a cornerstone of the two nations’ diplomatic relationship.

However, it also keeps up a “strong unofficial” connection with the island. That includes providing Taiwan with guns for self-defense.

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