A US and a Canadian warship have passed through the Taiwan Strait, a week after Beijing held large-scale military drills in the waterway.
The US and its allies regularly cross through the 180km Taiwan Strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway.
Photo from the US Navy's 7th Fleet X page
"The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Oct. 20," the US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement.
"Higgins and Vancouver's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrated the United States' and Canada's commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle," it added.
China today said that the US and Canadian actions had disrupted "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
"The Chinese People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to monitor and remain on alert throughout the transit, handling the situation according to laws and regulations," military spokesperson Captain Li Xi (李熹) said in a statement.
Taiwan's defense and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beijing sent a record number of military aircraft as well as warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan on Monday last week in the fourth round of major drills in just more than two years.
Taiwan deployed "appropriate forces" and put outlying islands on heightened alert in response to the exercises, which Beijing said were a "stern warning to the separatist acts of 'Taiwan Independence' forces."
Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taipei in recent years, deploying on a near-daily basis warplanes and other military aircraft as well as ships around the nation.
The Ministry of National Defense today said it had detected 14 Chinese military aircraft and 12 navy vessels in the 24 hours to 6am.
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