US paying lip service to Taiwan Strait stability

One week after the People's Liberation Army concluded its large-scale military drills around Taiwan island in response to the "new separatism" the regional leader Lai Ching-te peddled in his speech in Taipei on Oct 10, the US destroyer USS Higgins and Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver passed through the Taiwan Strait.

The PLA Eastern Theater Command monitored the vessels throughout the transit, handling the situation according to laws and regulations, the PLA said in a statement.

The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait "demonstrated the United States' and Canada's commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle", the US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement.