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The USS Antietam, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer, crossed the strait on Monday, sailing from south to north.
"USS Curtis Wilbur and USS Antietam conducted routine operations in the Taiwan Strait on 22 October, in accordance with international law," said Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a spokeswoman for the US Pacific Fleet, told CNN.
"The transit of ships through the Taiwan Strait testifies to the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," he added.
Two US defense officials told CNN that several Chinese warships were tracking the two US ships during transit, at a distance considered safe.
This strait, nearly 200 km wide, separates the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. It could be considered a true geopolitical flash point if Beijing tried to seize the island of Taiwan by force.
Beijing continues to claim Taiwan, an autonomous and democratic island, which it considers a separatist province.
While the Straits are international waters, it is believed that China is very sensitive to the presence of US military forces in the Strait and in recent years the United States has been operating naval vessels in the United States. waterway that once a year or so. The US Navy has not used aircraft carriers in this region since 2007.
Despite the lack of official diplomatic relations, Taiwan remains an important American ally in the region and the Trump government has sought to strengthen ties between Washington and Taipei.
The US alliance with Taiwan has long been criticized by officials in Beijing.
The Chinese army organized large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in April, exercises that analysts saw as a warning against strengthening links between the United States and Taiwan.
The Taiwan question was raised at a recent meeting between US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, which took place on the sidelines of the forum held on Thursday. Singapore by ASEAN.
"Minister Wei shared Taiwan's concerns about our policy," US Defense Secretary Randall Schriver, who is in charge of security affairs in Asia and the Pacific, told reporters.
Mattis "assured Minister Wei that we had not changed our Taiwan policy, our one-China policy," added Mr. Schriver, pointing out that on issues like Taiwan and the sea of Southern China, "we will continue to have differences".
A planned meeting in Beijing between the two chiefs of defense was canceled at the end of last month due to tensions between the United States and China around the penalty imposed by the Trump administration in Beijing for its purchase of Russian weapon systems.
The United States has intensified its criticism of China's militarization of the islands in the South China Sea.
"The militarization of the South China Sea by China and its aggressive actions in international waters are destabilizing the region and threatening shared security efforts," said Mattis at the ASEAN-USA meeting following his meet with Wei.
"The United States will fly, sail and operate where international law permits, and we encourage all nations to exercise with confidence the right to do the same," added Mattis.
Last week, the United States flew B-52 bombers near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, and last month the USS Decatur destroyer of the US Navy sailed within 20 km of the two Spratly Islands. as part of what the United States calls "freedom of navigation operation."
During this operation, a Chinese destroyer approached within 45 meters of the American warship, forcing it to maneuver to avoid a collision.
The United States called the Chinese warship's actions unsafe and unprofessional, while Beijing said the United States threatened China's security and sovereignty.
