OREANDA-NEWS   On Tuesday, the US 7th Fleet said that the naval ships had transited the Taiwan Strait to demonstrate the "commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific."The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August.

China condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Several countries, including France, Lithuania, the United States, and Japan, have sent their delegations to the island since then, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.