US Missile Cruiser Transits South Of Taiwan, China: Deliberately Raising Tensions

JAKARTA - China's military said on Wednesday it had monitored and alerted a US warship sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a mission that came shortly after China carried out exercises near the island.

The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG-73) made a "routine" transit in the international waters of the Taiwan Strait, in accordance with international law on Tuesday, its second mission in two weeks.

The United States has made such voyages about once a month, angering China, which views them as a sign of support for Taiwan, a democratically-ruled island that Beijing views as Chinese territory.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said in a statement its forces had been monitoring the ship thoroughly and had "warned" it.

"The United States often stages such dramas and provokes trouble, sends the wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces, and deliberately increases tensions in the Taiwan Strait," the statement said, cited from Reuters. May 11.

"Theatrical troops maintain high vigilance at all times, resolutely resist all threats and provocations, and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Separately, the US Navy said the ship was "transiting through a corridor in the Strait that is outside the territorial sea of any coastal state".

"Port Royal's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates wherever international law permits," the US said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said US warships were sailing north through the strait, and the situation on the waterway was "as usual".

Late Tuesday, the ministry said a Chinese WZ-10 attack helicopter had crossed the strait's unofficial median line, which warplanes from both sides normally avoid, although China's air force occasionally does.

It was also reported that two Chinese KA-28 anti-submarine helicopters were spotted in an area about halfway between Taiwan's southwest coast and the Taiwan-held Pratas Islands in the upper South China Sea.

China's armed forces carried out another round of drills near Taiwan last week to step up joint combat operations, the People's Liberation Army said on Monday, after the Chinese-claimed island reported a spike in activity.

Earlier, the guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG-102) sailed through the Taiwan Strait on April 27, which China condemned, saying such a mission "deliberately" undermines peace and stability.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and arms supplier, making it a constant source of tension between Beijing and Washington.