FREEDOM OF THE SEAS: Two Navy warships transit Taiwan Strait.

“USS Curtis Wilbur [DDG 54] and USS Antietam [CG 54] conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Oct 22, in accordance with international law. The ship transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” said U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Nate Christensen in an email to Navy Times.

Part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, the Ticonderoga-class Antietam visited South Korea’s Jeju Island last week, following its maneuvers with Royal Thai Navy vessels in the South China Sea.

Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Rob Manning said it “was certainly not the department’s intent to raise tensions” on Monday, adding that were was “coordination and contact with the appropriate nations” for the transit.

Beijing could use more reminders that their wealth is as dependent as ours is — if not more so — on free navigation of the world’s oceans.