BEIJING, March 19 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson sailed through the Taiwan Strait on March 17 and hyped it up publicly. The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) sent its forces to track and monitor the US warship's passage in the whole course, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a written statement released on Saturday.
Such kind of provocative move by the US side is sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces, which is very dangerous. The troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command are on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability, said the statement.