US Warship Transits Taiwan Strait Amid China Tensions

The guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain conducted a “routine” transit of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the U.S. Navy said, as China sent more fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defense zone and a Chinese carrier group drilled near Taiwan.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Andrew Heavens