German navy makes rare transit of sensitive Taiwan Strait

Two German navy ships including a frigate sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Friday in the first such transit in two decades and at a time of soaring tensions between Taipei and Beijing.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own, says only it exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait.

Both the United States and Taiwan say the strait — a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass — is an international waterway.