TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer plowed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday (June 22), marking the sixth passage of an American naval vessel through the strait since President Joe Biden took office.
The U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet on Tuesday announced that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) had carried out a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" that day "in accordance with international law." The Seventh Fleet emphasized that the warship's passage "demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."
The statement added that "The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) at 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning (June 23) confirmed that the destroyer had sailed through the strait from south to north.
The MND stated that during the ship's northward journey through the strait, the military used joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to monitor movements at sea and in the air around Taiwan and described the situation as normal. Previous U.S. Navy transits this year were made by the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) on Feb. 4, the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) on Feb. 24, the USS John Finn (DDG 113) on March 10, the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) on April 7, and the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) on May 14.
