“The Chung-Moon and Montreal crossing demonstrates the commitment of the US, its allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the US 7th Fleet announced.
Two warships, the US USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian HMCS Montreal, today sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the strait that has turned into a geopolitical powder keg in recent years.
“The Chung-Moon and Montreal crossing demonstrates the commitment of the US, its allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the US 7th Fleet announced.
The US and Canada “are partners working for peace and security in the region,” the Canadian military said in a tweet.
Chinese military authorities said they observed the crossing of the two vessels. “These countries are deliberately causing trouble in the Taiwan Strait and willfully increasing risks, unabashedly undermining regional peace and stability,” said Colonel Xi Yi, the Chinese military’s spokesman for the Eastern Zone.
American warships often pass through the Taiwan Strait, but rarely accompanied by vessels from other allied countries. The last time this happened was last September.
US and Chinese Defense Ministers Lloyd Austin and Li Shangfu met for the first time at the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Defense Dialogue in Singapore. They exchanged handshakes and had a brief dialogue.
Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China has regarded Taiwan as its province, which it has yet to reunite with the mainland. Relations between Beijing and Taipei have soured in recent years, especially since President Xi Jinping took power in China.
Source :Skai
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