An American warship crossed Wednesday, October 14 in the Taiwan Strait, announced the US Navy, an operation which risks angering China which claims its sovereignty over this arm of the sea. The guided-missile destroyer
USS Barry
carried out a routine operation on Oct. 14 in the Taiwan Strait,
"in accordance with international law
,
"
said US 7th Fleet spokeswoman Commander Reann Mommsen.
"The passage of the boat through the Taiwan Strait proves the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region
," she said in a statement.
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The US Navy regularly conducts so-called “freedom of navigation” operations in the strait separating mainland China from Taiwan, which always provokes strong responses from Beijing.
China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory.
The island is ruled by a rival regime which took refuge there after the communists seized power on the mainland in 1949, at the end of the Chinese civil war.
Taiwan has its own flags and currency, but is not recognized as an independent state by the UN.
Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 to recognize Beijing, but remains the island's most powerful ally and its number one arms supplier.
Beijing threatens to use force in case of proclamation of independence in Taipei or of outside intervention.
Read also: Taiwan, this fault line between China and America
In this context, Beijing considers the passage of foreign ships through the strait as a violation of its sovereignty.
Washington and many capitals, however, see this arm of the sea as part of international waters and therefore open to everyone.