The U.S. Navy sent a warship sailing through the narrow passage between China and Taiwan Thursday. This was the first such operation since President Joe Biden took over former President Donald Trump in the oval office.

The U.S. Seventh Fleet said that the “routine” exercise was “in accordance with international law.” The navy sent the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain on the mission, which it says was the country’s way of showing its commitment to “free and open” seas.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” the navy said.

Before its latest mission, the USS John S. McCain had traversed the same channel with the USS Curtis Wilbur on New Year’s Eve. Under the Trump administration, the U.S. conducted a total of 13 “freedom of navigation” exercises in the Taiwan Strait.

Political experts said that the latest mission is a display of the Biden administration and the country’s commitment in responding to any security threats in the region, particularly in light of the increasingly aggressive actions conducted by China.

During Biden’s first week as president, China launched 28 heavy bombers and fighter jets into the Taiwan Strait on the same day as the USS Theodore Roosevelt was conducting exercises in the South China Sea.

Taiwanese officials said that they “appreciate” the U.S. continued vigilance in the region. Experts said that the latest deployment was the U.S. government’s way of telling China that it still had vested interest in the ongoing standoff in the region.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said in a statement that the country is closely monitoring the exercises and its forces are now on “high alert.”