China says US ‘hyped’ sailing of Navy warship in Taiwan Strait

USS Sampson conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Tuesday (US Pacific Command via AP)

The Chinese military has protested against the sailing of a US Navy guided-missile destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, accusing the American side of hyping the manoeuvre.

The Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet said late on Tuesday that the passing of the USS Sampson through the 100-mile-wide waterway between Taiwan and China “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”.