The first two US warships crossing the Taiwan Strait since Pelosi’s controversial visit

Two US Navy warships are crossing international waters in the Taiwan Strait, three US officials told Reuters on Saturday, and the first such operation since tensions with China escalated over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

In recent years, US warships, and sometimes ships from allied countries such as Britain and Canada, have begun to sail through the strait permanently, much to the chagrin of Beijing.

China, which says Taiwan is part of its territory and is opposed by the democratically elected government in Taipei, began military exercises near the island after Pelosi’s visit in early August, and those exercises are continuing.

The visit infuriated Beijing, which saw it as a US attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

The three US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said US Navy cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam were carrying out the transit, which is still ongoing.

These operations usually take between eight and 12 hours to complete and are closely monitored by the Chinese military.

The Taiwan Strait has been a constant source of military tension since the then defeated government of the Republic of China fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists, who founded the People’s Republic of China.

About a week after Pelosi’s visit, a group of five other US lawmakers also visited Taiwan, and the Chinese military responded by conducting more exercises near the island.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a member of the Senate Commerce and Armed Services Committees, arrived in Taiwan on Thursday for the third high-level US visit this month, defying pressure from Beijing to halt such visits.

The Biden administration is seeking to prevent an exacerbation of tensions with Beijing, which has angered the visits.

The US administration described the visits of members of Congress as routine.

The United States doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is obligated by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

China has never ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Taiwan’s government says the People’s Republic of China has never ruled the island and therefore has no claim to it and that only its 23 million people can decide their future.