A premier U.S. Navy warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in response to China’s recent mock invasion of Taiwan.
The USS Port Royal went through the Taiwan Strait just days after China conducted a live-fire war game simulating a “rehearsal” of an invasion of Taiwan and little over a week since China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group performed military drills near the U.S. Navy base at Sasebo, Japan.
China’s Eastern Theater Command monitored the USS Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, as it navigated the Taiwan Strait, Global Times reported. The People’s Liberation Army also sent military helicopters into Taiwan’s airspace while the USS Port Royal sailed through the strait.
The USS Port Royal’s freedom of navigation exercise is the first time that a Ticonderoga-class cruiser has passed through the Taiwan Strait since the USS Chancellorsville made the run in February 2020, Stars and Stripes reported.
Chinese Navy sailors take part in an international fleet review to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy in Qingdao, Shandong province April 23, 2009. (REUTERS/Guang Niu/Pool)
Prior to the USS Port Royal, the last U.S. Navy vessel to traverse the strait was the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson, which made the trip on April 26.
An anonymous Beijing-based expert decried the U.S. Navy’s actions, telling Global Times: “It is obvious that the U.S. is trying to encourage Taiwan secessionists not to be deterred by the [People’s Liberation Army’s] recent drills, which is sending a very wrong and dangerous signal.” (RELATED: Chinese Military Surrounds Taiwan In Massive ‘Rehearsal’ Of Invasion Plans)
The Department of Defense and U.S. Navy did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. (RELATED: Did China Just Signal That It’s On The Brink Of War?)
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