US Navy Destroyer sails through politically sensitive Taiwan Strait ahead of Trump trade talks with China

The United States has once again sailed a pair of Navy warships through the politically-sensitive Taiwan Strait ahead of high-level trade negotiations between Donald Trump’s administration and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. A spokesperson for the Navy’s Seventh Fleet confirmed the passage of the US Navy destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur and the US Coast Guard cutter, the USCGC Bertholf, through the region, saying “The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific” in a statement to CNN. China previously expressed concerns about the passage of US warships through the roughly 160 kilometre (100 mile)-wide waterway when the Navy carried out a similar operation just days before Mr Trump and Mr Xi Jinping held bilateral meetings last year.

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