Defense
U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g. Caleb Swigart
US Navy guided-missile destroyers and guided-missile cruisers
- The US Navy destroyer USS Stockdale and the underway replenishment oiler USNS Pecos sailed through the tense Taiwan Strait Wednesday.
- The maneuver through the closely watched strait comes just days ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit.
- Tensions between Washington and Beijing have been running high these past few months as a number of key issues go unresolved.
The US Navy sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait Wednesday, just days ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale, accompanied by the Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler USNS Pecos, transited the tense strait to send a message to China, the US Pacific Fleet explained to Business Insider in an emailed statement.
"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Dave Werner, a Pacific Fleet spokesman, told BI. "The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows."
With a similar intent in mind, the US Navy sent two warships - the destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and the cruiser USS Antietam - through the strait in October. A similar operation was carried out in July, when the destroyers USS Mustin and USS Benfold sailed between mainland China and Taiwan.
Read More: US Navy warships just rocked the Taiwan Strait in a rare move, turning up the pressure on China
Beijing is extremely sensitive to US military maneuvers near Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province.
The US Navy's bold move comes just days before President Donald Trump is expected to sit down to dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The two leaders are expected to discuss a number of different issues, ranging from trade to tensions at sea, during their meeting.
In recent months, the US Air Force has repeatedly sent B-52 bombers tearing through the South China Sea. In September, a US Navy destroyer conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation near the contested Spratly Islands, where it was challenged by a Chinese warship that forced the American vessel off course.
Read More: A Chinese warship reportedly threatened a US Navy destroyer in the South China Sea
Despite some goodwill gestures, such as the recent port call by the USS Ronald Reagan in Hong Kong, tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to run high.