1 week Ago
China’s military criticized a U.S. destroyer’s passage through the Strait, which occurred less than two weeks before the island's new president takes office and while Washington and Beijing are making uneven efforts to restore regular military exchanges.
Navy Senior Capt. Li Xi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command, accused the U.S.
of having “publicly hyped” the passage of the USS Halsey on Wednesday. In a statement, Li said the command, which oversees operations around the strait, “organized naval and air forces to monitor" the ship's transit and handle matters ”in accordance with laws and regulations.” The Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Halsey “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on May 8 through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.
" The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer transited through a corridor in the Strait that is “beyond the territorial sea” of any coastal state, the fleet's statement said. “Halsey’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle,” it said “No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.
” The last such passage was April 17, a day after U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first.
