The Chinese military on Saturday described the passage of the US destroyer "Ralph Johnson" in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday as a "provocative" act by the United States and sent the wrong message to the pro-Taiwan independence forces.
A Chinese army spokesman said - in a statement - that such behavior is "extremely dangerous," adding that forces have been put in place to monitor the destroyer's passage.
China says that Taiwan is the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with the United States, and Washington does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, but it is the most important international supporter of Taiwan and its most important arms supplier.
On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Joe Biden that the Taiwan issue needs to be properly addressed in order to avoid any negative impact on Sino-US relations.
Earlier Friday, the Taiwan and US defense ministries said a Chinese aircraft carrier and a US warship had sailed through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from mainland China.
US President Joe Biden (left) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (AFP)
Brief message
In a brief message sent to Agence France-Presse, the Taiwan Defense Ministry confirmed the passage of the Chinese aircraft carrier "Shandong" through the Taiwan Strait on Friday.
"We confirm that we are vigilant and monitoring all aircraft carriers and ships of the People's Liberation Army in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait," the ministry added.
The Taiwan Strait is a very sensitive area, and Beijing considers the democratic island of Taiwan as part of its territory, and has expressed its desire to recover it one day and by force if necessary.
The United States (Taiwan's main ally) regards the strait as an international maritime zone, and sends warships to the region in defense of "freedom of navigation".
It is noteworthy that the movements of warships in the Taiwan Strait - which is 180 kilometers wide - are not rare.
Washington has lent its support to Taipei under the Biden administration, agreeing to at least two arms deals for the island to bolster its air and missile defense systems, and Beijing considers this support "seriously damaging" to US-China relations.