PLA mobilizes forces to monitor as US destroyer transits Taiwan Straits

The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command mobilized its forces to monitor the USS John Finn's passage through the Taiwan Straits on Wednesday, the command's spokesman said on Thursday.

"The US side hyped up the move by its naval vessel, which has sent a wrong message (to related parties) and deliberately complicated the regional situation and compromised peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. We strongly oppose such acts," Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui said in a statement, adding that forces under his command are always on high alert to respond to any possible threats or provocations.

The United States destroyer's move on Wednesday marked the third transit through the Taiwan Straits by a US naval vessel this year.

The John Finn is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer that is part of the US Seventh Fleet's Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.

The Seventh Fleet said in a news release on Wednesday that the transit was a "routine" act that demonstrated the US "commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific".