Taipei, June 23 (CNA) A United States Navy destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, making it the sixth transit by an American warship through the waterway in five months.

USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait June 22 (local time) through international waters in accordance with international law," the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement.

"The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement said.

U.S. warships have made similar passages via the waterway separating Taiwan and China on five occasions before Tuesday since Biden assumed office on Jan. 20, despite strong opposition from Beijing, which claims Taiwan to be part of its territory.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday that it monitored the American warship's movements and that the situation in the surrounding area remained normal as the ship sailed in a northerly direction.