The USS John S McCain, based in Japan, performed routine transit in accordance with international law, Lt. Joe Keiley, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, said in a statement.
“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law permits,” said Keiley.
The issue of Taiwan’s self-government was one of the first major foreign policy challenges for US President Joe Biden.
Beijing claims total sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located on the southeast coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
US warships transiting the Taiwan Strait are seen by Beijing as provocations that threaten stability in the region by encouraging defenders of Taiwan’s independence.
The last transit took place on New Year’s Eve, when McCain and a second destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur, passed through the strait, according to statements by the United States Navy.
US warships traveled 13 times on the waterway in 2020, according to the 7th US Fleet, the maximum since 12 transits in 2016, the last year of former President Barack Obama’s government.
The United States showed a strong commitment to Taiwan’s defense during the administration of former President Donald Trump by approving the sale of sophisticated military equipment to Taipei, including F-16 fighters, advanced missiles and main battle tanks, while sending high-flying envoys. level for the island.
Recent statements by the Biden administration suggest that there will be no setback in these actions.
“There is a strong and long-standing bipartisan commitment to Taiwan,” said new U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at his confirmation hearing last week. “Part of that commitment is to ensure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself against aggression. And that is a commitment that will absolutely last in a Biden government.”