The US Navy said on Thursday it had sailed a guided-missile destroyer through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a week before Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration for a second term in office.

The US Pacific Fleet said in a statement on its Facebook page the USS McCampbell had transited the narrow strait that separates Taiwan from mainland China on Wednesday. Taiwan’s defence ministry said the ship had sailed south on what it termed an “ordinary mission.”

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China “paid close attention” to the passage of the US ship. “We hope the US side can appropriately handle the relevant issue, and play a constructive role in regional peace and stability, not the opposite,” he said.

Tsai, who will be sworn in for her second and final term next Wednesday, won re-election by a landslide in January, vowing “to defend Taiwan’s democracy and stand up to China.”

Source: RT