US Warship Sails Through Waterway Separating China and Taiwa
Posted: Thu May 14, 2020 2:53 am
FILE - The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell arrives at Yokosuka naval base, south of Tokyo, July 9, 2007.
A U.S. Navy warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet posted a message on its Facebook page with a picture of the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell navigating through the narrow waterway that separates China from Taiwan.
The fleet said the USS McCampbell was sailing through the Strait as “part of ongoing operations in the Indo-Pacific.”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the destroyer was sailing southward off its western coast during a routine mission but provided no other details.
Tensions are simmering between China and Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing considers a breakaway province that belongs under its control. China has conducted numerous sea and air exercises near Taiwan in recent years and has been angered over U.S. naval exercises near the island and the Trump administration’s strong support for Taipei.