US Ship Sails Through Taiwan Strait Amid Virus Spat

A US warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a move certain to anger Beijing as the two countries trade barbs over the coronavirus.

The US Pacific Fleet sent a tweet on Thursday confirming the USS McCampbell, a guided missile destroyer, had transited the strait a day earlier.

Taiwan's defence ministry said the vessel was on a "routine mission" through the waterway separating the self-ruling island from Chinese mainland.

The ship's passage comes at a time of heightened political tensions between the US and China -- and after Beijing has repeatedly buzzed Taiwan with military jets and ships despite the global Covid-19 pandemic.

"As the world grapples with the severity of the Covid19 pandemic, China's military manoeuvres around Taiwan have continued unabated," President Tsai Ing-wen said in a tweet late on Tuesday accompanied by pictures of her visiting troops.

"Whether it's national defence or preventing the spread of disease, our armed forces remain as vigilant as ever," she added.

Beijing has ramped up drills around the island since Tsai was first elected in 2016 because she refuses to acknowledge its concept that Taiwan is part of "one China”.

Taipei's defence ministry said four "targeted" drills have been conducted near its borders this year, which it said was "concrete evidence of provocations and threats".

Taiwan ran an exercise with its own F16 fighter jets on Tuesday in response.

Beijing and Washington have also traded barbs over the origin of the coronavirus, with President Donald Trump angering Beijing by calling it the "China virus".

Senior Chinese officials have also spread conspiracy theories about the virus' origin. (AFP)