AFP

Two US warships crossed the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, the US Navy announced, in the first step of its kind since China conducted unprecedented military maneuvers in the vicinity of the island. The Navy said in a statement that the transit of the two ships "demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific." Tension reached its peak in the Taiwan Strait following a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early August to Taipei, which provoked an angry reaction from Beijing, which organized its largest military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Taiwan conducted exercises simulating defense against an invasion from China, which considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and vows to restore it, even by force if necessary. Beijing has been critical of any diplomatic action that might legitimize Taiwan and has taken an increasingly hostile approach in response to the visits by Western officials and politicians. The US Seventh Fleet said the USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville, which carry guided missiles, both of the Ticonderoga class, conducted a "routine" transit in "waters where freedom of navigation and overflight apply according to international standards." He pointed out that the two ships took "a corridor in the Taiwan Strait outside the territorial waters of any coastal country," adding that the US military has the right to "exercise its activity where international law allows it." - 'High alert' - The Chinese military asserted that the United States had "made a big fuss" about ships passing through the strait. "The Eastern Region Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army is following and warning American ships along their transit path, and is aware of all their movements," said Shi Yi, a spokesman for the Chinese Army's Eastern Command. "The forces of the (eastern) region are on high alert and ready (...) to thwart any provocation," he added. For its part, the Taiwan Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that two US ships crossed the Taiwan Strait from north to south, without naming them. "During their journey south through the Taiwan Strait, the army monitors the movements in our sea and airspace ... and the situation is normal," the same source said. The Seventh Fleet is based in Japan and is a key component of Washington's naval presence in the Pacific. On August 12, Washington announced its intention to strengthen trade relations with Taiwan, affirming its right to move freely by air and sea in the strait that separates the island from China, in response to Beijing's "provocative" behavior. During the largest military exercises conducted by Beijing in its history around Taiwan, for five days the Chinese army deployed warships, missiles and fighter planes for five days, simulating the siege of the island. On August 16, Vice Admiral Carl Thomas of the US Seventh Fleet described the launch of ballistic missiles over the island as "irresponsible", stressing that they nearly touched international shipping lanes. The United States and Taiwan have trade and investment relations. The island, along with South Korea, is also an important global supplier of some of the most advanced semiconductors used in everything from cell phones and laptops to cars and missiles. The United States is keen to encourage Taiwanese companies to build chip smelters on American soil, something the Taiwanese president also indicated last week