China paper denounces US Navy ships' Taiwan Strait passage

BEIJING: A ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper is denouncing the passage of a pair of US Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait as a "psychological game,'' as the two sides square up over trade and relations with self-governing Taiwan.

The Global Times said in an editorial Monday that the US was adding to tensions by sailing the Japan-based guided missile destroyers USS Mustin and USS Benfold through the 160-kilometer (100-mile)-wide strait that divides Taiwan from mainland China.

Though such missions are not uncommon, both Taiwan and the U.S. made unusual public confirmations of the ships' passage over the weekend.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory to be conquered by force if necessary, has criticized recent US moves to strengthen relations with the administration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.