[Epoch Times, April 27, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu comprehensive report) The US Navy said the guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG-102) passed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday (April 26) in accordance with international law . On Wednesday, Beijing time, the CCP issued a statement expressing its dissatisfaction.
According to a statement from the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, the Sampson’s passage through the Taiwan Strait was a routine operation and conducted in accordance with international law.
“The ship’s passage through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States‘ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the statement said. “U.S. forces fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”
Soldiers aboard the USS Sampson participated in the Seventh Fleet VBSS (Visit Board Search and Seizure) training last week, according to the U.S. Maritime Service. VBSS is a training mode commonly used by the Navy and Marine Corps. It is mainly a drill to search for unknown ships after intercepting them on the sea, so as to train soldiers’ combat capabilities.
Sampson is a member of the 21st Destroyer Squadron, currently serving with the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Strike Group. The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Philippine Sea.
Seventh Fleet said the crossing was a routine operation.
On Wednesday, Beijing time, the Chinese military said it resolutely opposed the US warship’s jumping across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the U.S. warship sailed northward through the Taiwan Strait and the channel conditions were “normal.”
U.S. warships will occasionally make a voyage across the Taiwan Strait, and the CCP has jumped against it almost every time. The guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) passed through the Taiwan Strait on February 28, which the CCP sees as an assurance of U.S. security for Taiwan, as the transit was at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ongoing.
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei#