DEFENSE/USS John Finn transits Taiwan Strait

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn transited the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Navy.

In a statement, the U.S. 7th Fleet said the John Finn's transit "demonstrates the United States' commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle."

The destroyer conducted a Taiwan Strait transit on Jan. 24 through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law, the 7th Fleet said.

"The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state," the 7th Fleet added.

Later on Wednesday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense confirmed that a southbound U.S. Navy ship had passed through the Taiwan Strait from the north.

The ministry said it was closely monitoring the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Strait as the ship was making the transit, and nothing unusual was observed.

The latest transit came as leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Taiwan Caucus, Republican Representative Mario Diaz Balart and Democratic Representative Ami Bera, visit Taipei, as a show of support after the country's Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections.

While the Taiwan Strait is considered an area in which high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, transits by international military vessels often draw the ire of China, which has been trying to establish dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

About an hour after Taiwan made the transit public, China criticized the U.S. for conducting and "trumpeting" the transit.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) was on guard and monitoring the John Finn as it was making the transit and "will deal with it according to the law," according to a statement issued by the PLA Eastern Theater Command.

The U.S. military has often engaged in "provocative actions" recently in an attempt to disrupt regional peace, and the Command will be on high alert at all times to uphold China's sovereignty and regional peace, according to the statement.