TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday (Oct. 20).

The two ships transited waters “where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the US Navy Seventh Fleet said in a statement, noting that the route was outside any nation’s maritime border. 

The voyage demonstrated America and Canada’s commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation for all, the fleet said. “The United States rejects any assertion of sovereignty or jurisdiction that is inconsistent with freedoms of navigations, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea and air,” it added.

The passage follows in the wake of China’s one-day “Joint Sword-2024B” military exercise around Taiwan on Oct. 14. The exercise focused on sea-air combat readiness and tested joint operations capabilities. The aircraft carrier Liaoning also led a strike group through the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines into the West Pacific.

More than 30 countries including the US, Japan, the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Lithuania, and South Korea spoke out against the drills. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and called on China to show restraint.