Taipei, Taiwan - A US destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, making a 110-mile transit that triggered a strong response from Beijing and aimed to uphold freedom of navigation.

The warship was monitored closely by China, which is in a tense dispute with Taiwan over the waterway. While Beijing sees the strait as its sovereign territory, the US holds the view that it is an international waterway.

In a statement released by the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, it was revealed that the USS Ralph Johnson traveled north through the Taiwan Strait. The move was justified as being in accordance with international law.

The statement, which described the move as a "routine" transit, clarified that "The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state."

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China regularly sends military aircraft and ships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, infringing on Taiwan's sovereign waters. Just this morning, Taipei announced the incursion of eight aircraft and six Navy ships from China.

The Seventh Fleet's statement justified its actions as a way to demonstrate the US' "commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle."

"No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows."

The incursion of US military personnel into what Beijing sees as its sovereign territory has put the Chinese military on high alert.

Beijing called the move "public hype" and said that they were monitoring the ship closely, warning that they'd deal with it, "in accordance with the law and regulations."

Reuters reports that the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) said, "Troops in the theater remain on high alert at all times and will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability."

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Back in January, the PLA used similar language when the US destroyer USS John Finn sailed through the Taiwan Strait and claimed that Washington "Hyped it up."

"The US military has frequently carried out provocative acts to maliciously undermine regional peace and stability," the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement at the time.

"[The PLA remain] on high alert at all times to resolutely defend China's sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability."