It comes just weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the region – the highest-ranking US elected official to visit in 25 years. Her visit angered China, which saw it as an attempt by the US to interfere in its internal affairs. The narrow strait has been a source of military tension since the defeated government of the Republic of China fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the Communists. Ms. Pelosi’s visit angered China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province that will be annexed by force if necessary. Confirming the operation, the US Navy said the cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam “crossed a corridor in the strait that lies beyond the territorial waters of any coastal state”. It usually takes eight to 12 hours to complete such operations. Read more: Could China and the US go to war? Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 13:19 Could there be a US-China war? The operation demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and the US military flies, sails and operates wherever international law allows, the navy added. Nations including the United Kingdom and Canada are among the other nations that have been sending ships through the Taiwan Strait in recent years. China’s military said it was monitoring the US navy’s movements, ready to “prevent any provocation”. Taiwan’s defense ministry said the two US ships were sailing south and that its forces were watching, but that “the situation was normal”. Following Pelosi’s visit in early August, five other US lawmakers have visited Taiwan. China’s military is responding by conducting more exercises near the island. Three more US officials visited this month. US President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to keep tensions between Washington and Beijing from escalating into conflict, reiterating that congressional travel is routine. The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Taiwan is home to 23 million people and has never been ruled by China.
