{"id":28325,"date":"2019-05-23T16:14:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T16:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/23\/beijing-protests-american-warships-sailing-through-the-taiwan-strait-again\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:29:24","slug":"beijing-protests-american-warships-sailing-through-the-taiwan-strait-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/05\/23\/beijing-protests-american-warships-sailing-through-the-taiwan-strait-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Beijing protests American warships sailing through the Taiwan Strait (again)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TAIPEI, Taiwan \u2014 Two U.S. warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait<\/a> in an apparent show of support for the government of the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement the ships passed through from south to north on Wednesday without incident, adding they were free to sail in the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China, which last month complained about a French ship’s passage through the strait, said it had expressed concerns to the U.S. side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccording to information learnt from the relevant department, China followed closely the passage of the U.S. warships through the Taiwan Strait, and we are fully aware of the whole process,\u201d ministry spokesman Lu Kang<\/a> said at a news conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We urge the U.S. to … properly deal with Taiwan-related issues with caution so as to avoid further negative impacts to China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Lu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China maintains a more ambiguous sea boundary than defined by international treaty and has asserted a claim to virtually the entire South China Sea<\/a>, which is contiguous with the Taiwan Strait and where several governments have competing claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\t