US sails warships through Taiwan Strait 1st from Pelosi

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The U.S. Navy sails two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, in the first such transit made public since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Taiwan in early August, at a time when tensions kept the waterway particularly busy. .

USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville are conducting a routine transit, the U.S. 7th Fleet said. The cruisers « passed through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of ​​any coastal state, » the statement said.

China has carried out numerous military exercises in the strait as it seeks to punish Taiwan after Pelosi’s visit to the self-governing island against threats from Beijing.

China has sent numerous warships sailing through the Taiwan Strait and the waters surrounding Taiwan since Pelosi’s visit, as well as dispatching warplanes and firing long-range missiles. It considers the island to be part of its national territory and opposes any visits from foreign governments as recognizing Taiwan as its own state.

The United States regularly sends its ships through the Taiwan Strait in what it calls freedom of navigation maneuvers.

The 100-mile-wide (160-kilometer-wide) strait separates Taiwan from China.

The Associated Press

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