A US warship steamed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, the first such maneuver under the Biden administration. The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS John McCain made the passage on Thursday.
Beijing said it was “closely monitoring” the warship. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said China would “continue to be on high alert at all times, respond to all threats and provocations at any moment, and will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Trump administration ratcheted up tensions with Beijing by taking steps to increase ties with Taiwan and increasing US military activity in the region. In 2020, the US sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait 13 times, the most maneuvers since at least 2007, according to the South China Sea Probing Initiative.
President Biden and his cabinet have made it clear they are taking a hostile stance towards China, and US military activity in the region has continued. US military flights have been reported near Taiwan recently, and a US aircraft carrier was sent into the South China Sea during Biden’s first week in office.
China doesn’t have to worry about the USS John McCain. If it’s anything like its namesake, it’s a bumbling blowhard that will sing like a canary when captured.
That is after doing his heroic duty bombing dikes and destroying rice paddies.
Plus he graduated 894 out of 899 at the Naval Academy. Or how about the fire on the USS Forrestal that killed 134 people? Was “boots on the ground” McCain responsible? Add to his never meeting a war he didn’t like and we have a true American treasure.