US MULLING OVER NEW WARSHIP PASSAGE THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT

WASHINGTON— The United States is considering a new operation to send warships through the Taiwan Strait, US officials told Reuters.

The US Navy conducted a similar mission in the strait’s international waters in July and any repeat would be seen in self-ruled Taiwan as a fresh expression of support by President Donald Trump’s government.

Trial balloon

The US military declined comment and US officials who discussed the deliberations did so on condition of anonymity. They did not discuss the potential timing of any fresh passage.

China views Taiwan as a wayward province and has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island.

It raised concerns over US policy toward Taiwan in talks this week with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Singapore.

No policy change

Even as Washington mulls the plan, it has been trying to explain to Beijing that its policies toward Taiwan are unchanged.

Mattis delivered that message to China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe personally on Thursday, on the sidelines of an Asian security forum.

Washington has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself.

The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taiwan more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010.—