Photo: Collected
The US guided missile class destroyer John Finn has carried out a routine transit from the south to the north of the Taiwan Strait without trespassing on the territorial sea of any coastal state, the US 7th Fleet said on Tuesday (5 March).
"The Arleigh-Burke guided missile class destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) conducted a routine south-to-north Taiwan Strait transit on March 5, 2024," the fleet said in a statement.
The transit was conducted through a corridor "that is beyond any coastal state’s territorial seas," the statement read.
In late January, the Chinese military escorted and monitored the USS John Finn that passed through the Taiwan Strait to protect the country’s regional sovereignty from what Chinese officials consider to be "provocative actions," aimed at undermining "regional peace and stability."
Taiwan has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
Messenger/Mumu
