US sends warships through Taiwan Strait in first operation since Nancy Pelosi’s visit

The US navy said two cruisers, the USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville, had passed through waters ‘beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state’

It was the first such exercise since the PLA responded to the US House Speaker’s visit with a series of unprecedented war games

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A US Navy photo of the voyage. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:29pm, 28 Aug 2022Updated: 8:10pm, 28 Aug 2022

Two US warships passed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday in the first such operation since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the island.

Two guided-missile cruisers from the US Seventh Fleet – the USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville – passed through waters that are “beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state”, the US Navy said in a statement on Sunday.

Pelosi’s visit triggered days of military drills that effectively blockaded the island.

The US Navy said in the Sunday statement that the voyage shows the US commitment “to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

The People’s Liberation Army described the trip by the Ticonderoga-class cruisers as “showing off”.

“The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command warned the US vessels and monitored their entire passage. We are fully aware of their activities. Troops of the theatre command remain on high alert and are ready to thwart any provocation,” Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement.

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