US warship transits Taiwan Strait; China calls it undermining 'peace'

A United States warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday enraging China, which claims sovereignty over the island and surrounding seas.

While the American military described it as a "routine" passage, China called it a ''serious attempt to undermine peace and stability''.

According to a statement by the US Pacific Fleet, "The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement said.

"The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows," it added.

Ties between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated in recent months, over issues including trade and Hong Kong, with the self-ruled island of Taiwan a long-running source of tension.

Any US Navy operations in the Taiwan Strait, which separates China from the island, provoke a strong response from Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be an inviolable part of its territory.

In an angry riposte, the Chinese People's Liberation Army said it tracked the USS Barry by sea and air "throughout the entire process."

Beijing has accused Washington and Taipei of "collusion" towards the island declaring formal independence and recently ramped up air force activity near Taiwan in a show of force.

The White House is pushing forward to sell to Taiwan sophisticated military equipment including MQ-9 drones and a coastal defensive missile system, fuelling further tensions in what is already an increasingly adversarial Sino-US relations.