Chinese Embassy spokesman to the US Liu Pengyu expressed Beijing’s firm opposition to the passage of the US Alreigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday.
Pengyu urged Washington to “immediately stop stirring up trouble, escalating tensions and undermining peace and stability” in the strait.
“US warships frequently flex muscle in the name of exercising freedom of navigation. This is not about keeping the region free and open.
China will remain on high alert and stand ready to respond to all threats and provocations at any time, and resolutely safeguard their national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement reads, quoted by Reuters.
The Navy’s 7th Fleet announced Thursday its guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon made the passage as part of its commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
“The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit Jan. 5 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the Navy’s 7th Fleet Public Affairs office announced.
“Chung-Hoon’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Navy added.
