China has paid close attention to and fully grasped U.S. warships passing through the Taiwan Straits, and the country has made representations to the U.S. side, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a routine press conference on Monday, in response to questions on media reports that the Pentagon has sent two ships through the region on Sunday.
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Bertholf "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit from March 24 to 25 (local time)," the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet said in a statement, CNN reported.
This marks the third time that the U.S. has sent warships through the Taiwan Straits in the past three months, as it sailed two ships through the region in February and January.
"We urge the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and three China-U.S. joint communiqués, and to handle the Taiwan-related question properly and cautiously, so as not to damage China-U.S. relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Straits," Geng noted.
