Navy Times:
BEIJING — A ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper on Monday denounced the passage of a pair of U.S. Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait as a “psychological game,” as the two sides square off over trade and relations with self-governing Taiwan.
The Global Times said in an editorial that the U.S. was adding to tensions by sailing the Japan-based guided missile destroyers USS Mustin and USS Benfold through the 160-kilometer-wide (100-mile-wide) strait that divides Taiwan from mainland China.
Though such missions are not uncommon, both Taiwan and the U.S. made unusual public confirmations of the ships’ passage over the weekend.
Washington is “sending political signals by sending warships through the Taiwan Strait,” said the Global Times editorial, headline “U.S. psychological game in Taiwan Strait.”
