US, Canadian navies stage rare joint mission through Taiwan Strait

3/6/2023 18:03

        A U.S. and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the U.S. Navy said, in a rare joint mission in the sensitive waterway at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
        
        The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Canada's HMCS Montreal conducted a "routine" transit of the strait "through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law".
        
        While U.S. warships transit the strait around once a month, it is unusual for them to do so with those of other U.S. allies.
        
        The mission took place as the U.S. and Chinese defence chiefs were attending a major regional security summit in Singapore.