<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> The US Navy said that its warship USS Milius had sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a "freedom of navigation" operation on Sunday, days after China staged massive war games around the island, reported news agency AFP.</p> <p>The warship "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit" on Sunday, the Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement, "through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law".</p> <p>"The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State," the statement said, according to AFP.</p> <p>The news agency reported that this was the first US operation through the strait since January.</p> <p>The US 7th Fleet on Monday posted pictures on Twitter showing crew members looking out into the strait, which is one of the most important international shipping waterways.</p> <p>China said on Monday it had tracked a US warship through the Taiwan Strait, adding that the United States had "hyped up" the transit, reported AFP.</p> <p>On Monday, Taipei's defence ministry said it had detected four warships and 18 aircraft, four of which had crossed its southwestern ADIZ.</p> <p>Colonel Shi Yi, a Chinese military spokesman, said troops in the area "remain on a high level of alert at all times and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability".</p> <p>China claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day. It also claims the entire Taiwan Strait as its territorial waters.</p> <p>Earlier on April 8, China had launched three days of military exercises around Taiwan, simulating targeted strikes and a blockade of the island.</p> <p>The drills were in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's recent visit to the United States, where she met with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.</p>
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