US Navy warship sails through Taiwan Strait

China yesterday expressed "deep concerns" over a US Navy warship sailing through the Taiwan Strait, a day after Beijing warned that it was ready for war if Taiwan moved toward independence.

Taiwan is among a growing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which include a trade war, US sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Beijing said China had "expressed deep concerns to the US side" over its latest action in the strait separating China from Taiwan.

"The Taiwan question is the most sensitive and important issue between China and the US," spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.

"We urge the US to abide by the One China principle and the three joint communiques, to be prudent and act appropriately with regards to Taiwan so that it doesn't harm China-US relations and the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait's region."

China claims self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control.

On Wednesday, China warned that it is ready for war if there was any move toward Taiwan's independence, accusing the United States of undermining global stability and denouncing its arms sales to the self-ruled island.