China protests US Navy, Coast Guard ships in Taiwan Strait

BEIJING (AP) — China’s defense ministry has protested the passage of a U.S. Navy warship and Coast Guard cutter through the waters between China and Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China. A statement posted Saturday on the ministry’s website called the move provocative and said it shows that the United States is the biggest creator of security risks in the Taiwan Strait. The USS Kidd guided-missile destroyer and Coast Guard cutter Munro sailed through the passage Friday. Such exercises are seen as a warning to China, which recently conducted drills near Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.