China Tracks US Navy Ship’s Passage Through Taiwan Strait

China says it tracked a U.S. Navy warship as it passed through the Taiwan Strait and has its forces in the area on high alert, as tensions between the world’s two largest economies and rivals for regional influence continue to simmer.

The spokesperson for its Eastern Theater Command, Maj. Zhang Chunxuan, said air and sea forces were mobilised to keep tabs on Wednesday on the USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

Maj. Zhang said the U.S. has recently been sending the wrong signal to proponents of independence for Taiwan, a pro-U.S. self-governing democracy that China claims as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.