TAIPEI: A US and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the US Navy said, in a rare joint mission in the sensitive waterway at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Canada’s HMCS Montreal conducted a “routine” transit of the strait “through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.”
“Chung-Hoon and Montreal’s bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it said in a statement.
While US warships transit the strait around once a month, it is unusual for them to do so with those of other US allies.
The mission took place as the US and Chinese defense chiefs were attending a major regional security summit in Singapore.
At that event, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rebuked China for refusing to hold military talks, leaving the superpowers deadlocked over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
There was no immediate response to the sailing from China’s military, which routinely denounces them as a US effort to stir up tensions.
The last such publicly revealed US-Canadian mission in the narrow strait took place in September.
China has been ramping up military and political pressure in an attempt to force Taiwan to accept Beijing’s sovereignty claims, which the government in Taipei strongly rejects.
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US, Canadian navies stage rare joint mission through Taiwan Strait
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US, Canadian navies stage rare joint mission through Taiwan Strait
- While US warships transit the strait around once a month, it is unusual for them to do so with those of other US allies
’No. 1 fan’: Rapper Minaj backs Trump
- Rap icon Nicki Minaj declared Wednesday she was Donald Trump’s “number one fan,” adding that “hate” directed at the US president made her support him more
WASHINGTON: Rap icon Nicki Minaj declared Wednesday she was Donald Trump’s “number one fan,” adding that “hate” directed at the US president made her support him more.
Republican Trump called the provocative singer-songwriter up on stage after she announced her support for so-called “Trump Accounts,” which provide trust funds for children.
“I will say that I am probably the president’s number one fan, and that’s not going to change,” said Minaj, who wore a furry white coat as she embraced Trump and took the podium.
“And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more.”
The Trinidadian star, 43, added that she would not let the billionaire president’s opponents “get away with bullying him and you know, the smear campaigns. It’s not going to work.”
“He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him. Amen.”
Trump, who had earlier joked that he would grow out his nails to emulate the “Starships” and “Super Bass” rapper, then held her hand while another speaker took the podium.
The self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap” is known for her shape-shifting musical and fashion styles — but she has also radically modified her politics in recent years.
Previously a critic of Trump’s hard-line immigation policies, Minaj has moved in recent years to praising his leadership.
In November she made a surprise appearance at the United Nations to call for an end to faith-based persecution in Nigeria, an allegation by the Trump administration which the government there denies.
Republican Trump called the provocative singer-songwriter up on stage after she announced her support for so-called “Trump Accounts,” which provide trust funds for children.
“I will say that I am probably the president’s number one fan, and that’s not going to change,” said Minaj, who wore a furry white coat as she embraced Trump and took the podium.
“And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more.”
The Trinidadian star, 43, added that she would not let the billionaire president’s opponents “get away with bullying him and you know, the smear campaigns. It’s not going to work.”
“He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him. Amen.”
Trump, who had earlier joked that he would grow out his nails to emulate the “Starships” and “Super Bass” rapper, then held her hand while another speaker took the podium.
The self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap” is known for her shape-shifting musical and fashion styles — but she has also radically modified her politics in recent years.
Previously a critic of Trump’s hard-line immigation policies, Minaj has moved in recent years to praising his leadership.
In November she made a surprise appearance at the United Nations to call for an end to faith-based persecution in Nigeria, an allegation by the Trump administration which the government there denies.
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