China says US threatens peace as warship crosses Taiwan Strait | Al Jazeera

China has accused the United States of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a US warship again sailed through the seas that separate Taiwan and its giant neighbour.

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Tuesday in accordance with international law.


“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it said in a statement on its website. “The United States military will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows.”

A spokesman for China’s Eastern Theatre Command expressed strong opposition to the passage on Wednesday, which comes amid heightened tensions between the two powers.

“The US actions sends the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces, deliberately disrupting the regional situation and endangering peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

Chinese forces tracked and monitored the ship throughout its voyage, he added.