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| Photo Credit: AP. |
The Chinese government said it has placed its military on high alert after the U.S. Navy sailed two warships near the Taiwan Strait Sunday, noting that it was “ready to thwart provocation,” Newsweek reports.
The Chinese
military have been conducting rapid military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in
retaliation for a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-governed
island in August despite Beijing’s threat of military retaliation.
What is US warships - USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville doing in Taiwan Strait?
The USS
Antietam and USS Chancellorsville are conducting a “routine transit” through
waters where "high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in
accordance with international law," Newsweek cited a statement by the U.S.
7th Fleet.
"These
ships transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial
sea of any coastal State," the statement noted.
"The
ship'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 anywhere international law allows."
A statement
by the People Liberation Army (PLA) said "the troops of the PLA Eastern
Theater Command always stay on high alert and get ready to thwart any
provocation," senior Col. Shi Yi,
spokesperson for the People Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command was
quoted as saying by Newsweek.
Taiwan’s
military said “the situation was as normal’, but noted that it forces were
observing the U.S. ships sailing in the southerly direction, according to Sky
News.
A bitter
civil war between China and Taiwan has left the two sides with no diplomatic
relations ever since. Although the U.S. does not maintain formal diplomatic
relations with Taiwan, it has promised to come to the Island’s aid if it came
under attack from China.