The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) has performed a transit through the Taiwan Strait.
The routine Taiwan Strait transit was conducted on 10 March in agreement with international law.
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It demonstrates the commitment of the US military towards a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’.
John Finn is part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. It is on a scheduled deployment to the US 7th Fleet, the country’s largest forward-deployed fleet area of operations.
The 7th Fleet routinely ‘operates and interacts’ with 35 maritime nations. It is engaged in conducting missions to ‘preserve and protect a free and open Indo-Pacific region’.
During the crossing, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35’s multi-mission naval helicopter MH-60R Sea Hawk joined John Finn.
According to the US Navy, the country’s military will continue ‘to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows’.
Last month, another Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) sailed the Taiwan Strait.
In December last year, the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) successfully conducted transit through the Taiwan Strait.
Meanwhile, China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed a high-level strategic dialogue with the US in the next few days.
Lijian requested the US to ‘respect China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs’.
