US playing high stakes game backing Taipei

Since it was, in United States Pacific Fleet spokesman Commander Nate Christensen's word, "in accordance with international law",

Especially since US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis just assured his Chinese counterpart of an unchanged US commitment to "one China",

The two US military vessels' Monday transit through the Taiwan Straits hardly made a splash. Even though this was the second time the US Navy sent warships through the Taiwan Straits since July. And that has not been the case for some time.