A U.S. missile destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, marking the third time since President Joe Biden assumed office in January.

The transit occurred shortly after the State Department announced an upcoming meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan and high-level Chinese officials next Thursday.

The duo will meet with Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Alaska.

The transit “demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a press statement published on early Thursday morning. It described the move by the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Finn as a “routine Taiwan Strait transit.”

“The U.S. military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” it added.

Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui, spokesperson of The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, accused America of “hyping the so-called freedom of navigation” and expressed firm opposition against the move.

“The U.S. naval vessel’s action sent erroneous signals, deliberately interfered and undermined the regional situation, seriously damaged the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” said Zhang in a statement.

Chinese troops tracked and monitored the U.S. warship throughout its voyage and were preparing to respond to all threats and provocations, Zhang added.

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