China censures US as ‘maker of security risks’ after sailing of American warship through Taiwan Strait

China has denounced the United States as a ‘maker of security risks’ after another American warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a strategically-sensitive waterway that separates the self-ruled Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) from mainland China.

In a statement on Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Defense lashed out at the US for creating “security risks” in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting its stability after Washington sailed its guided-missile destroyer through the waterway a day earlier.

“The frequent provocations and showing-off by the US fully demonstrate that the US is the destroyer of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and a maker of security risks in the Taiwan Strait,” said Col. Shi Yi, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command.

“The theater troops maintain high alert at all times and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

The strong response came just a day after the guided-missile destroyer the USS Benfold from the US 7th Fleet sailed through the 180-kilometer wide Taiwan Strait, the third time a US Navy warship passed the waterway and entered waters claimed by China.

US 7th Fleet spokesperson Lt. Nicholas Lingo, however, claimed in a statement that the Benfold’s exercise was carried out “through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state”, stressing that the warship only conducted a “routine” Taiwan Strait transit through what he called international waters “in accordance with international law.”

US naval forces have been conducting such maneuvers near Chinese waters about once a month, irking Beijing, which considers the sailings as a sign of support for the self-governed island territory of Chinese Taipei, which is the sovereign territory of China.

China slams ‘provocative’ passage of US warship through Taiwan Strait

China has denounced as “provocative” the passage of the U.S. destroyer Ralph Johnson through the strategically-sensitive Taiwan Strait.

China has repeatedly warned the US against formal ties with the self-ruled Chinese Taipei, also saying that the sale of American weapons to the island violates China's sovereignty.

Under the "One China" policy, nearly all countries across the globe recognize Beijing's sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, including the US, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the territory but continues to support its anti-China stance and supply it with massive amounts of armaments.

Both Beijing and Washington traded similar barbs last week when the USS Benfold sailed close to the Parcel Islands in the South China Sea in a separate “freedom of navigation exercise.”

The Paracels, called the Xisha Islands by China, are also claimed by Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, with Beijing claiming historic rights to resources within the region's so-called nine-dash line. China claims the South China Sea in its entirety. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of the sea.

The US, however, sides with Beijing's rival claimants in the dispute. The US routinely sends its warships and warplanes to the South China Sea to assert what it calls its “right” to “freedom of navigation.” China has always warned the US against military activities in the sea.

Beijing says potential close military encounters between the air and naval forces of the two countries in the region may spark conflict.

Early this week, Beijing warned that a $108 million US arms sale to Taipei “gravely jeopardizes China's sovereignty and security interests, and severely harm relations between the two countries and their militaries.”

China vows 'forceful measures' if US House Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan

China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday warned that Beijing would take "forceful measures" if US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Chinese Taipei in August as reported by sections of US media.

Furthermore, the White House has facilitated easier diplomatic contact with Taiwan and its secessionist president, in violation of Chinese sovereignty. China has in response ramped up military patrols and drills near the self-ruled island.

On Tuesday, a Beijing spokesperson said that the Chinese government was “firmly opposed” a possible visit to the island by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives.

According to reports, Pelosi is due to visit Chinese Taipei in August. She will be among the highest-ranking US officials to visit the self-ruled territory. Previously she had planned to take a US congressional delegation to the self-ruled island in April, but the trip was postponed after she tested positive for Covid-19.

She will be the first sitting US House speaker to visit Chinese Taipei since 1997 when Newt Gingrich traveled to the territory to meet then-Taipei president Lee Teng-hui.

Pelosi, a long-time critic of China, had a virtual meeting with Taiwan's vice president William Lai in January after his visit to the US and Honduras.

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