The timely voyage on Sunday night risks further unrest between the two world superpowers ahead of further economic negotiations scheduled this week. The two ships, identified as the Navy Curtis Wilbur destroyer, were located in contested pacific ocean region, as China continue to ramp up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island. China considers Taiwan as a wayward province of “one China” and sacred Chinese territory.
In recent years, Beijing has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle the island on drills and worked to isolate the island internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies.
Washington has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help provide the democratic island with the means to defend itself and is its main source of arms.
The Pentagon says it has sold Taiwan more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010.
Meanwhile in a statement US military insists its ships “transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific” and it will “continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows”.
Taiwan is one of a growing number of flash points in strained relationship between the US and China which also include the ongoing trade war.
The White House has confirmed US officials will travel to China for further talks after previous discussion of February 15 broke down.
Over the past year the two nations have imposed billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs on one another’s goods after the US President stuck to his “America first” policy.
The US imposed tariffs on $250bn (£188.6bn) worth of Chinese goods, whilst China has retaliated with duties on $110bn of US products.
China’s President Xi Jinping is seen as reluctant to make economic reforms under pressure from the US, and Mr Trump has said he may keep tariffs on Chinese goods in place for “a substantial period” even if a deal is struck.