China says it is “ready to defeat any provocation” after two US Navy warships sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait.
It comes just weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the region – the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the country in more than 25 years.
Her visit angered China, which saw it as an attempt by the US to interfere in its internal affairs.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a province that will be annexed by force if necessary.
Confirming the operation, the US Navy said the cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam had “passed through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state”.
The operation demonstrates America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and the US military flies, sails and operates wherever international law allows, the navy added.