Sharjah 24 – AFP: The United States will mount a "freedom of navigation" exercise in the "next few weeks" through the Taiwan Strait, despite rising tensions with China over the island, a senior US official said Friday.

Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for Asia-Pacific issues and an advisor to President Joe Biden, said that despite tensions, US forces "will continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows, consistent with our long-standing commitment to freedom of navigation."

"That includes conducting standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks," he told reporters.