Balanced News: China accuses US of fueling tensions in Taiwan Strait

A U.S. naval ship made another “routine” Taiwan Strait transit Thursday, drawing criticism from China which said the exercise would “escalate tensions” in the region. The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement that its Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon sailed through the waters between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, “where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” on Jan. 5. USS Chung-Hoon is part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, currently in the 7th Fleet conducting routine operations in the Philippine Sea.