U.S. Navy destroyer crossing Taiwan Strait

On Thursday, a U.S. Navy ship sailed for the first time this year across the Taiwan Straits, thus demonstrating American support for Taiwan. This incident sparked Beijing's opposition.

Arleigh Burke destroyer, USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) conducted a routine passage through the waters of the Taiwan Strait, on which freedom of navigation applies under international law. The ship passed through a corridor in the Strait, which is outside the territorial sea of any coastal state. Transition of the unit USS Chung-Hoon by Taiwan Straits demonstrates the United States' commitment to the free and open Indo-Pacyfik.

The 7th United States Fleet reported in a January 5 statement that the United States Army flies, swims and operates wherever international law permits it.

The situation in this region has been tense for years, although after last year's visit to Taipei by then the President of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly. The visit of the Congress delegation to Taiwan honored the unwavering support of America for Taiwan's living democracy.

In response, China launched large-scale maneuvers involving many warships, tens of aircraft and launch ballistic missiles into the waters around Taiwan.

In December, the FY2023 National Defense Authority Act allocated $2 billion to funding military equipment for Taipei. This has made things worse between Beijing and Washington.

U.S. Navy warships often flex muscles in the name of exercising freedom of navigation. China is ready to respond to all threats and provocations at any time and will definitely protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington

Last year, China's president Xi Jinping told his generals that he wanted the Chinese military to be able to take Taiwan by force until 2027. According to a recent survey of Western geopolitics conducted by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Taiwan Straits crisis brings closer to the armed conflict in the world.

USS Chung-Hoon is a 2004 Arleigh Burke-type destroyer named after Rear Admiral Gordon Paie Chung-Hoon, a decorated World War II commander who became the first Asian-American U.S. Navy officer. The ship's construction contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems on March 6, 1998, and the keel was laid down on January 14, 2002 at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The unit was launched on 11 January 2003.

Source: US Navy