TAIPEI –
A U.S. and a Canadian warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait together on Sunday, less than a week after China conducted a new round of war games around the island, with Beijing denouncing the mission as “disruptive.”
The U.S. navy, occasionally accompanied by ships from allied countries, transits the strait around once a month. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, also says the strategic waterway belongs to it.
The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said on Monday that the destroyer USS Higgins and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver made a “routine” transit on Sunday “through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.”
The transit demonstrated the United States’ and Canada’s commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all countries, it said in a statement.
“The international …