China expresses concerns over US warships in Taiwan Strait

China said Thursday that it had expressed concerns to the US over the passage of a pair of Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait, days ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that Taiwan was the "most important and sensitive issue" in relations between the sides.

"We have expressed our concerns to the US," Geng said at a daily news briefing.

"The Taiwan issue has a bearing on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is the most important and sensitive issue in China-US ties," Geng said.

China's defence ministry also said it had closely followed the warships' passage.

Monday's passage of the guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and guided missile cruiser USS Antietam marked at least the third time this year that the Navy has sailed through the strait that separates Taiwan from mainland China.

The 160 kilometer-wide waterway is split down the middle between Taiwan and China, but there is no international law restricting civilian or military shipping from passing through it.

Tensions between the two militaries have been high over US challenges to China's claim to sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea.

In late September, a Chinese destroyer came close to colliding with the destroyer USS Decatur in the South China Sea in what the US Navy called an "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver."