US Navy Warships Sail Through Taiwan Strait

USS William P. Lawrence taking part in an exercise in the Pacific in 2016 (Picture: US Department of Defense).

The US have deployed two Navy warships, William P. Lawrence and Stethem, through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.

This is in line with the Pentagon's decision to increase the frequency of movement through the strategic waterway, despite opposition from China.

"The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said in a statement.

Commander Doss said there were no unsafe or unprofessional interactions with other countries’ vessels during the transit.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the US ships had sailed north through the strait, monitored by Taiwanese armed forces.

Director of SOAS China Institute, Professor Steve Tsang, said the Chinese government would be "sensitive" about ships sailing through the strait, and despite it being "largely international waters" the government would be less likely to grant permission without a prior request.

The move by the US risks increasing pre-existing tensions with China while being interpreted as a sign of support by self-ruled Taiwan.

Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship which also include a trade war and US sanctions.

The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan, but the Pentagon said Washington has sold the country more than $15bn in weaponry since 2010.

China has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty over Taiwan and last week, it said a Taiwan Strait passage by a French warship on Wednesday was deemed illegal.

China has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle the island on drills in the past few years and worked to isolate it internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies.