In this photo provided by the US Navy, the battleship USS Milius makes a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait, Sunday, April 16, 2023. (US Navy via AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship passed through the Taiwan Strait, its first known transit since China conducted a massive siege exercise around Taiwan.

The US 7th Fleet said transit of the USS Milius through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday was routine. The cruise ships “passed through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of ​​any coastal state,” the statement said.

China has held numerous military exercises in the strait in retaliation for Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a visit to the US earlier this month. . . China said on Wednesday that air and sea drills simulating an encirclement of Taiwan are meant as a “serious warning” to the self-governing island’s pro-independence politicians and their foreign supporters.

China has also sanctioned organizations involved in Tsai’s visit to the United States, including the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where his meeting with McCarthy and other members of Congress took place.

On Sunday, China launched a rocket carrying a satellite that spewed debris into the waters north of the capital Taipei. Although the satellite launch had no obvious military purpose, it affected travel and delayed flights.

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