TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A U.S. destroyer and a Canadian frigate transited the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday (Nov. 1).

The U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet on Wednesday said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) had "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit" through "waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law." The press release said the warships had navigated through a "corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state."

The Seventh Fleet described the passage of the two naval vessels as "unremarkable, unprovocative, and consistent with international law." It said the warships' passage "demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The statement added that such joint missions symbolize the centerpiece of the U.S. approach to a "secure and prosperous region where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows."

At 11 a.m. on Thursday morning (Nov. 2), the Ministry of National Defense (MND) issued a statement acknowledging that a U.S. destroyer and a Canadian frigate had sailed through the Taiwan Strait from south to north on Wednesday evening. The MND said that throughout the warships' passage via the strait, Taiwan's armed forces monitored the developments in the surrounding waters and airspace and described the situation as normal.

A U.S. destroyer and a Canadian frigate had previously transited through the Taiwan Strait on Sept. 9.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit Nov. 1.https://t.co/LHLSZFiDLV pic.twitter.com/WZgJayYH8s

— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) November 2, 2023