US warships cross the Taiwan Strait in a context of heightened tension with Beijing

WASHINGTON / TAIPEI: Two US warships crossed the Taiwan Strait on Saturday during a trip that will likely be perceived on the self-proclaimed island as a sign of support from President Donald Trump in a context of increased tensions with China.

"Two US Navy ships made routine transit through the international waters of the Taiwan Strait from July 7 to 8 (local time)," US Pacific Fleet spokesman told Reuters.

"US Navy ships travel between the South China Sea and the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait for many years," said Brown.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the destroyers Mustin and Benfold had made the crossing.

Earlier Saturday, the Taiwan Defense Ministry said the ships were moving northeast, adding that the situation was in line with the regulations.

Washington has no formal ties with Taiwan but is required by law to help defend itself and is the main source of arms on the island. China regularly says that Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in its relations with the United States.

The pbadage through the Taiwan Strait, the first by a US Navy ship for about a year, follows a series of Chinese military maneuvers around the island that fueled tensions between Taipei and Beijing .

"The United States exacerbates tensions in the Taiwan Strait," the state-controlled Chinese daily The Global Times reported on Twitter.

"The PLA Navy had to monitor the situation and control it, said Saturday an expert on military affairs after two US Navy ships crossed the Taiwan Strait," he added. there.

China claims Taiwan as its country and has never given up the use of force to bring under its control what it regards as a capricious province. Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by the ruling Communist Party in Beijing.

The move comes as the US-China trade struggle is seen as dragging on for a potentially protracted period, as the world's two largest economies stretch their muscles without sign of negotiations to ease tensions.

Reuters reported for the first time last month that the United States was planning to send a warship and had reviewed plans for an aircraft carrier pbad, but did not finally did not choose this option.

The last time an American aircraft carrier crossed the Taiwan Strait, it was in 2007, under the administration of George W. Bush, and some US military officials believe that # 39, a carrier transit is late.

US openings to Taiwan, since the unveiling of a new de facto embbady until the adoption of Taiwan's travel law, which encourages US officials to visit, have yet to aggravated the tension between Beijing and Taipei.

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis addressed the delicate issue of Taiwan during his trip to China last month.
"The United States is sending military ships into the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating both their continued support for Taiwan and their willingness to exercise their maritime rights in the periphery of China," said Abraham Denmark, former badistant secretary of defense of the East. Asia under President Barack Obama.

China has alarmed Taiwan by increasing its military exercises this year, including flying bombers and other military planes around the island and sending its carrier across the Taiwan Strait separating it from Taiwan.

In recent months, the Chinese Air Force has organized military maneuvers near the island, which Taipei has described as intimidation.

China's hostility to Taiwan has increased since Tsai Ing-wen, of the pro-independence Progressive Democratic Party, won the presidential elections on the island in 2016.