The Navy had done this throughout its history, and it performs these operations today in contested waters all around the world, such as the Persian Gulf. If these operations aren’t routinely performed, then it’s too easy for a country’s baseless legal claims to become a de facto state of affairs. And so, as China’s illicit claims increased in recent years, so did U.S. operations. In 2020, the United States conducted more freedom of navigation transits through the Taiwan Strait, a recognized international waterway, than ever before. That said, I wanted to make sure we were neither increasing
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