Officials in Beijing have yet to comment on passage of the American destroyer and cruiser, but in the past the Chinese government has taken a hard line against Navy vessels transiting the waterway separating mainland China from Taiwan.
Marise Payne told an Australian Institute of International Affairs conference that Australia needed to defend its interests in "a period of strategic uncertainty."
Yanjun Xu, an operative of China’s Ministry of State Security, was charged Wednesday in Cincinnati, Ohio, after being extradited to the U.S. from Belgium.
China has raised concerns about a joint U.S.-Philippine military exercise that coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the country in November, a Philippine official said Tuesday.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet says a U.S. Navy ship had to maneuver to prevent a collision with a Chinese destroyer in the South China Sea that came aggressively close to the American vessel.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday that he doesn’t see the U.S. relationship with China worsening after a series of setbacks that officials said include canceling the Pentagon chief’s planned visit to Beijing this month.
By Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press and Robert Burns, The Associated Press
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino was on hand to greet the People's Liberation Army Navy's ship, the Peace Ark, on its latest stop as part of the 11-nation "Mission Harmony" tour announced in June.