US warship passes through Taiwan Strait for 2nd time in month

SANAA, April 25 (YPA) – A US warship passed through the Taiwan Strait for the second time in a month, amid escalating tension between Taiwan and China, as a Chinese aircraft carrier passed near the island.

The Taiwan Ministry of Defense said on Friday that the American warship has crossed the Taiwan Strait that separates the island and mainland China heading south and will continue to sail in this direction.

The Ministry added that the Taiwan armed forces monitored the warship, which it described was on an “ordinary mission”, without giving further details.
“The warship is the Bari destroyer,” said Lieutenant Anthony Junko, spokesman for the US Seventh Fleet, adding that it had carried out “periodic passage through the Taiwan Strait” in accordance with international law.

China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has been outraged by the increased support the administration of President Donald Trump has given to the island, such as increased arms sales and US patrols near it, and the visit of Taiwan’s Vice President-elect William Lai to Washington in February.

The Bari destroyer also passed through the strait two weeks ago, on the same day, which witnessed exercises by Chinese warplanes over the waters near the island.

On Thursday, Taiwan announced that a Chinese aircraft carrier group had sailed south from it through the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan and the Philippines, and was heading east.