<p class="bodytext">China accused the US of staging a show of force by sailing two Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday morning.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Navy said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Curtis Wilbur “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit” in accordance with international law.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Their movement “demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Navy said in a statement on its website.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China's Defence Ministry called the move a “show of force” and a provocation that “sent the wrong signal to the Taiwan independence forces and seriously endangered peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area.”</p>.<p class="bodytext"> “We firmly oppose this," the ministry said in a statement on its official microblog, adding that it monitored the ships' passage from the air and sea.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The Chinese People's Liberation Army at all times maintains a high level of alert and can respond at any time to any threat or provocation and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."</p>.<p class="bodytext"> While China claims Taiwan as its own territory, the busy Taiwan Strait is generally considered an international waterway.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China fiercely opposes any signal of US military support for Taiwan, a self-governing republic that relies on Washington for defensive weapons and political backing in the face of Chinese threats to annex the island by force.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Taiwan's Defence Ministry issued a statement saying it had observed the passage of the ships passage and that “the situation is normal."</p>
<p class="bodytext">China accused the US of staging a show of force by sailing two Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday morning.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Navy said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Curtis Wilbur “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit” in accordance with international law.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Their movement “demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Navy said in a statement on its website.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China's Defence Ministry called the move a “show of force” and a provocation that “sent the wrong signal to the Taiwan independence forces and seriously endangered peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area.”</p>.<p class="bodytext"> “We firmly oppose this," the ministry said in a statement on its official microblog, adding that it monitored the ships' passage from the air and sea.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The Chinese People's Liberation Army at all times maintains a high level of alert and can respond at any time to any threat or provocation and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."</p>.<p class="bodytext"> While China claims Taiwan as its own territory, the busy Taiwan Strait is generally considered an international waterway.</p>.<p class="bodytext">China fiercely opposes any signal of US military support for Taiwan, a self-governing republic that relies on Washington for defensive weapons and political backing in the face of Chinese threats to annex the island by force.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Taiwan's Defence Ministry issued a statement saying it had observed the passage of the ships passage and that “the situation is normal."</p>