A United States Navy destroyer sailed north through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday. This was the sixth transit by an American warship through the waterway since President Joe Biden took office.
The US 7th Fleet said in a statement that the USS Curtis Wilbur, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait June 22 (local time) through international waters in accordance with international law.”
It said, “The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The passage of US warships through the Taiwan Strait comes as China increases its military activity near Taiwan. China has been sending warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone at an unprecedented rate. Last Tuesday, it sent a record 28 warplanes into the zone.