The United States deployed the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius through the Taiwan Strait on April 16, just days after the Chinese military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer conducted “a routine Taiwan Strait transit” to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement.
“The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” it said. “The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.”
The warship deployment immediately triggered a response from Beijing, which said it organized troops to monitor the U.S. warship’s operations and to maintain “a high level of alert at all times.”…