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TAIPEI: A U.S. Navy warship has transited the narrow and sensitive Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday (Aug. 31), the second such operation in two weeks amid surging surges. tensions between China and the United States.
The ministry said a US destroyer, which it did not name, had sailed southward through the strait and was continuing south.
The ship was on an “ordinary mission” and the situation was “normal,” the ministry added, without giving details.
The United States Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The US guided missile destroyer USS Mustin crossed the strait on August 18, in what the Chinese military called an “extremely dangerous” move.
Both China and the United States have been stepping up their military activities in the region, both around China’s claimed Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen warned last week of the risk of an accidental conflict over increased military activities.
China claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
The United States is Taiwan’s largest arms supplier and the largest sponsor on the international stage.
