US sends warship through Taiwan Strait ahead of presidential inauguration

TAIPEI/BEIJING: A US warship sailed through the narrow Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, less than two weeks before Taiwan’s new president takes office, prompting an angry denunciation from Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.

US warships, and occasionally US Navy patrol aircraft, pass through or over the strait about once a month.

The latest mission’s timing was extra sensitive, given it took place ahead of the May 20 inauguration of Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te, a man who China says is a dangerous separatist.

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Wednesday “through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law”.