China's military claimed that it had warned and monitored a U.S. destroyer Thursday as it crossed the Taiwan Strait, the latest time that the waterway has been traversed in a sensitive manner.

China asserts that it has jurisdiction in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan and the United States disagree, claiming that the Taiwan Strait was an international waterway

In a press release, the 7th Fleet of the U.S. Navy said that the destroyer USS Ralph Johnson had made a routine transit through the strait according to international law.

China's military called the sailing a "public hype", and said it sent air and naval forces to monitor the U.S. vessel and "deal with" it "in accordance with law and regulation".

The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army stated that "troops remain on high alert and will resolutely protect national sovereignty, security and peace in the region."

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said that the ship was sailing in a northerly directions through the Strait. Taiwanese troops had observed the situation, but found nothing abnormal.

The narrow strait is traversed by U.S. military aircraft and ships about once per month.

Taiwan's government rejects China’s claims of sovereignty and says that only the island's citizens can decide its future.

China has not renounced using force to control Taiwan. (Reporting from Beijing newsroom, Additional reporting in Taipei by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kim Coghill Himani Sarkar Bernadette Baum

(source: Reuters)