TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On the day Taiwan announced diplomatic relations with the Pacific island nation of Kiribati were ending, a United States Navy guided missile cruiser sailed through the Taiwan Strait, reports said Friday (September 20).
The Ministry of National Defense identified the ship as the USS Antietam based in the Japanese port of Yokosuka, CNA reported.
The ship sailed from north to south, similar to a journey it had made last July. Its latest trip was the eighth passage of a US Navy vessel through the strait between Taiwan and China so far this year.
The Taiwanese military said it had been closely monitoring the Antietam’s journey and that and nothing unexpected had happened. The waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan are being watched around the clock to follow the movements of ships and aircraft, so there is no need for the public to be worried, according to a military statement quoted by CNA.
