On Sunday, a U.S. warship and a Canadian one sailed together through the Taiwan Strait less than a fortnight after China held a series of new war games on the island. Beijing had denounced the mission as disruptive.

Once a month, the U.S. Navy, sometimes accompanied by ships of allied nations, transits this strait. China, who claims Taiwan as part of its territory, also claims the strategic waterway.

7th Fleet, U.S. Navy said Monday that the destroyer USS Higgins made a routine transit through waters on Sunday where freedom of navigation at sea and overflight are applicable in accordance to international law.

In a press release, the statement said that the transit showed how committed both Canada and the United States are to preserving freedom of navigation in all countries.

The rights and freedoms of the international community to navigate in the Taiwan Strait shouldn't be restricted. It said that the United States "rejects any claim of sovereignty or jurisdiction which is incompatible with freedoms of overflights, navigation, and other legal uses of sea and air."

China's Eastern Theatre Command has said that its forces have monitored and warned ships.

It added: "The actions of Canada and the United States have caused problems and disrupted peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

China held war games on Monday, which it claimed were an alert against "separatist actions" and that attracted condemnation from both the Taiwanese government and the U.S. government.

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty, saying that only the island's citizens can decide its future.

(source: Reuters)