Two US Navy warships transit through Taiwan Strait

In a statement, the US Navy said the passage "demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait soared to their highest level in years this month after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.

Beijing reacted furiously, staging days of air and sea exercises around Taiwan. Taipei condemned the drills and missile tests as preparation for an invasion.

The US Seventh Fleet said the pair of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers -- the USS Antietam and the USS Chancellorsville -- conducted the "routine" transit on Sunday "through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law."

"These ships transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State," a statement said.

"It sends a very clear message," a White House official, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, said Sunday on CNN. "The US Navy will sail, fly and operate wherever international law allows it to."

Kirby, a retired navy rear admiral, said the operation had been "planned long ago."

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) said the United States had "openly hyped up" the ships' passage through the strait.

"The PLA Eastern Theatre Command is following and warning the US vessels throughout their entire journey, and is aware of all movements," spokesman Senior Colonel Shi Yi said.

"Troops in the (eastern) theatre remain on high alert and are prepared at all times to foil any provocations."

Taiwan's defence ministry confirmed a pair of warships sailed from north to south through the channel.

"During their southward journey through the Taiwan Strait, the military is fully monitoring relevant movements in our surrounding sea and airspace, and the situation is normal."