This “routine transit” of the USS Milius, claimed by the US Navy, responds to the extensive Chinese military exercises that took place in this Taiwan Strait a week ago.
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American response. A week after extensive Chinese military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, an American destroyer, theUSS Miliusperformed a “routine transit” Sunday, April 16, in this area, “where freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas applies in accordance with international law”announced the US Navy. “The ship transited through a corridor in the strait located beyond any territorial sea of a coastal State”the statement added. “The United States military flies, sails and operates wherever international law permits.
China monitored the ship’s passage and accused Washington of making “hype” around this presence. Chinese forces in the area “continuously maintain a high level of alert and resolutely defend national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability”said Shi Yi, a spokesman for the army.
Actions that lead to responses
Last week theUSS Milius had sailed near the Spratly Islands, also claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea. The Chinese government had denounced a “illegal trespass”. This passage of the ship comes after the “closure” of the island simulated for three days by the army of Beijing. This action was already in retaliation for a meeting in the United States between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
China views with displeasure the rapprochement in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States which, despite the absence of official relations, provides the island with substantial military support. Beijing considers Taiwan as a province that it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. China is aiming for this reunification, by force if necessary.
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