US warship sails through Taiwan Strait amid spat with China over Covid-19

Senior Chinese officials have also spread conspiracy theories about the virus' origin

A US warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a move certain to anger Beijing as the two countries trade barbs over the coronavirus. The US Pacific Fleet sent a tweet on Thursday confirming the USS McCampbell, a guided missile destroyer, had transited the strait a day earlier.

Taiwan's defence ministry said the vessel was on a "routine mission" through the waterway separating the self-ruling island from Chinese mainland. The ship's passage comes at a time of heightened political tensions between the US and China -- and after Beijing has repeatedly buzzed Taiwan with military jets and ships