The US Navy was sailing two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, in the first such transit publicised since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier in August, at a time when tensions have kept the waterway particularly busy.

The USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville were making a routine transit, the US 7th Fleet said.

The cruisers “transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State”, the statement said.

China carried out many military exercises in the strait as it sought to punish Taiwan after Ms Pelosi visited the self-ruled island despite Beijing’s threats.

China has sent many warships into the Taiwan Strait and waters surrounding Taiwan since her visit, as well as sending warplanes and firing long-range missiles.

It views the island as part of its national territory and opposes any visits by foreign governments as recognising Taiwan as its own state.

The US regularly sends its ships through the Taiwan Strait as part of what it calls freedom of navigation manoeuvres.

The 100 mile-wide (160km-wide) strait divides Taiwan from China.