China condemned the United States on Wednesday as the region’s greatest security “risk creator” after a US warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from China.

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said their forces monitored the vessel throughout its passage and warned it, Reuters reported.

“The US side is intentionally playing the same old tricks and creating trouble and disrupting things in the Taiwan Strait,” it said.

This “fully shows that the United States is the greatest creator of risks for regional security, and we are resolutely opposed to this”.

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet claimed that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Tuesday in accordance with international law.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the ship had sailed in a northerly direction through the strait and the “situation was as normal”.

The provocative US move comes as Beijing considers Taiwan part of Chinese territory and considers US moves and arms sales to Taiwan a violation of its sovereignty and contrary to the  “One-China policy”.

The United States is effectively supporting the island by sending ships to the Strait of Taiwan and providing military assistance to Taiwan, and Beijing has repeatedly protested. However, UN member states, including the United States, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state.

Source: Iranian Agencies