US sails warships through Taiwan Strait

The American Navy has sailed two ships through the Taiwan Strait, according to the US Pacific Fleet, which oversees operations in the area.

The guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell and the USNS Walter S. Diehl "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait Transit" on Thursday that was "in accordance with international law", US Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman told CNN.

"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows," Gorman added.

The US Navy also sailed two ships through the Strait in October and November 2018, operations that were shadowed by multiple Chinese warships.

The US had conducted a similar operation last July. Prior to that, the transits occurred only about once a year.

The approximately 110-mile-wide strait separates China and Taiwan.

--IANS

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