by Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Two U.S. Navy ships cruised in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday amid lingering military tensions between the island and China following a visit earlier this month by the president of American Chamber Nancy Pelosi.
Confirming information from Reuters, the US Navy said the cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam were conducting operations in the strait. This type of operation, which lasts about 12 hours, is closely monitored by China. These maneuvers are the first conducted by Washington since the visit of Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan as a renegade province and does not rule out using force to bring it back into its fold, had launched military exercises around the island to express its anger following this visit.
US Navy ships have crossed the strait several times in recent years, much to the anger of Beijing.
The command of the eastern operations of the Chinese army, which said to follow these maneuvers, issued a warning to the United States.
“The troops in the theater of operations remain on high alert and are ready to thwart any provocation at any time,” he warned in a statement.
Taiwan’s defense minister said the two ships were sailing south and his forces were watching them, but “the situation was normal”. (Report Idrees Ali; French version Camille Raynaud and Jean-Michel Blot)