TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Monday, Feb. 25, the U.S. Navy dispatched two vessels to transit the Taiwan Strait, in an operation that was monitored by Chinese PLAN forces.

The U.S. Naval vessels USS Stethem, a destroyer, and the USNS Cesar Chavez, an oiler, transited the Taiwan Strait in what the Navy has referred to as a “routine” transit.

This is the fifth time that U.S. Navy vessels have been reported transiting the strait since summer of 2018, much to the consternation of Beijing which has referred to previous U.S. Navy visits to the strait as “provocative behavior.”

According to a report, the Chinese navy dispatched its own vessels to trail and monitor the USS Stethem and the USNS Cesar Chavez. A statement from US Indo-Pacific Command was included in the Business Insider report.

"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows."

The U.S. Navy’s previous passage through the Taiwan Strait occurred on Jan. 24, when guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell alongside the USNS Walter S. Diehl passed through the region. Similar operations were also conducted in November, October, and July of 2018.

Before 2018, the U.S. Navy conducted on average one transit operation through the Taiwan Strait each year, indicating a quickly shifting strategic posturing for U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific.