The USS Barry on Thursday transited the Taiwan Strait, the US Seventh Fleet said yesterday.
The vessel made the transit “during routine underway operations ... in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” the US Seventh Fleet said on Facebook.
Earlier yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said that a US warship had sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a southerly direction, but it did not identify the vessel or say when the transit occurred.
US Seventh Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Anthony Junco identified the vessel involved as the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Barry, saying that it had conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” in accordance with international law.
“The ship’s 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,” he said.
The USS Barry had previously transited the Taiwan Strait, also from north to south, on April 10, the same day that Chinese fighter jets drilled in waters close to Taiwan.
On Thursday, the ministry said that it had been monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, which on Wednesday passed east through the Bashi Strait south of Taiwan after conducting training exercises in the South China Sea.
The ministry released a black-and-white aerial surveillance photograph of the Liaoning, but did not say when or where it was taken.
China has frequently carried out drills near Taiwan in the past few months, including flying fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers near the nation, in moves denounced by Taipei as attempts at intimidation.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), an analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the frequent appearances by US vessels are a form of “military public diplomacy” aimed at signaling the US’ commitment to the region, despite the Chinese military’s efforts to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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