Yesterday, local Taiwan time, the guided missile destroyer USS Barry passed through the Taiwan Strait, the ninth such transit by the U.S. Navy since President Joe Biden took office. “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows,” the U.S. Seventh Fleet pompously said in a press release.
China’s PLA Eastern Theater Command announced that it sent forces to track the U.S. ship. “Such frequent provocations by the U.S. fully demonstrate that the U.S. is a destroyer of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and a security risk creator across the Taiwan Strait,” said Eastern Theater Command spokesman Army Senior Colonel Shi Yi. Shi stressed that troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command maintain a state of high vigilance at all times, and will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability.
