New Delhi: The US Navy said that its warship USS Milius had sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a "freedom of navigation" operation on Sunday, days after China staged massive war games around the island, reported news agency AFP.
The warship "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit" on Sunday, the Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement, "through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law".
"The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State," the statement said, according to AFP.
The news agency reported that this was the first US operation through the strait since January.
The US 7th Fleet on Monday posted pictures on Twitter showing crew members looking out into the strait, which is one of the most important international shipping waterways.
China said on Monday it had tracked a US warship through the Taiwan Strait, adding that the United States had "hyped up" the transit, reported AFP.
On Monday, Taipei's defence ministry said it had detected four warships and 18 aircraft, four of which had crossed its southwestern ADIZ.
Colonel Shi Yi, a Chinese military spokesman, said troops in the area "remain on a high level of alert at all times and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability".
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day. It also claims the entire Taiwan Strait as its territorial waters.
Earlier on April 8, China had launched three days of military exercises around Taiwan, simulating targeted strikes and a blockade of the island.
The drills were in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's recent visit to the United States, where she met with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.