2 US vessels cross Taiwan Strait

Beijing, Aug 28 (EFE).- Two United States Navy warships sailed Sunday in the international waters of the Taiwan Strait, in the first maneuver of its kind since US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island earlier this month.

The Taiwanese defense ministry confirmed the transit in a statement saying no irregularities occurred while the two American ships sailed northward into the Taiwan Strait

The ships, guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville, conducted “routine” transit in the area through international waters in accordance with international law, local news agency CNA reported.

This development comes three weeks after Pelosi made a fleeting visit to Taipei despite previous warnings from Beijing, triggering a crisis in the strait and provoking military maneuvers around the island.

The war drills with live fire and the launching of long-range missiles were described by the Taiwanese Government as “irresponsible,” in addition to raising numerous acts of concern within the international community.

The United States said it would continue to operate through the Taiwan Strait, calling the crisis created by Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, an island it considers a rebel province since Kuomintang nationalists retreated there in 1949, after losing the civil war against the Communists. EFE

gbm/sc