China tracks US warship as it crosses Taiwan Strait, calls transit ‘hyped’

It didn't make its way into a lot of headlines, but it certainly made waves

A U.S. warship just passed through one of the most sensitive waterways in the world

and the response? Swift, silent, and tense. The USS William P. Lawrence, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer

sailed through the Taiwan Strait on April 23rd. Indo-PACOM, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, called it a routine operation under international law

Chinese state media released this video showing one of the People's Liberation Army Navy sailors

watching the U.S. destroyer from a safe distance. But this time, unlike past transits

neither the U.S. Navy nor Taiwan's Defense Ministry issued a formal announcement

Private tracking data confirmed the ship's route. The vessel turned on its identification signal at the start, then shut it off near the end

a common move in international waters, according to local reports. China's military responded immediately

The PLAN says it deployed naval and air assets to shadow the U.S. warship

accusing Washington of exaggerating the event even though the United States made no public statement about it The Taiwan tracker Taiwan Security Monitor identified the ship using open maritime data

A U.S. Navy drone was also spotted nearby, but officials have not publicly linked the two

Beijing claims the Taiwan Strait as its own territory, but the U.S. and most of the world treat it as international waters

This marks the second such transit under President Trump's current term, part of Washington's longstanding freedom of navigation policy

But the timing adds a little more weight to the occasion because it follows recent Chinese military drills around Taiwan and coincides with the 76th anniversary of China's Navy

Taiwan's defense ministry says it tracked 19 Chinese aircraft and seven naval vessels near

its territory within 24 hours of the transit. We can expect these transits to continue, though

The U.S. made it clear it will not back down from asserting navigational rights

while China sees them as provocations. For more of our unbiased Straight Fact reporting, download the Straight Arrow News app today