Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Taiwan Strait, a move that will likely be viewed by Beijing as yet another escalation amid Washington’s ongoing operation to impose freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The USS Antietam, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer, traveled through the strait Monday, sailing from south to north, the US Navy said, confirming earlier reports from Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.
The ships’ passage through the strait demonstrates “the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for US Pacific Fleet, told CNN.
The last time US naval vessels passed through the strait was in July.
Last week it was reported that US officials were mulling an operation that would send warships through the waterway, as part of its ongoing efforts to impose free navigation in the South China Sea.
The move will likely anger Beijing, which has a territorial claim on Taiwan.
