US deploys warships in Taiwan strait on 2021 eve: Caustic message to China

By Atul Aneja New Delhi, Jan 1 : The US has yet again reminded China that it will continue to push back against the Middle Kingdoms expansionism by sailing two of its formidable warships through the Taiwan strait, hours before a turbulent 2020 came to an end.
USS John S. McCain and USS Curtis Wilbur, steamed through the Taiwan Strait on New Year’s Eve, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. This was the 13th occasion in 2020 that US warships had passed through the Taiwan strait, which China claims as its own.
The US 7th Fleet described the passage as adhering to international law and demonstrating the American commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to the report.
Washington’s intent to dissuade China to change the status quo in Taiwan and elsewhere in the region became glaring since August. On August 12, the US deployed three B-2 stealth bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.
These deployments took place when military tensions showed no signs of abating — Ladakh, on the India-China border, and Taiwan.
By deploying at the Indian Ocean island, which falls under the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), China was being sent an unambiguous signal-that Washington was committed to safeguard the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, under well-defined rules.