BEIJING--China’s military on Saturday condemned the transit of two German navy ships through the Taiwan Strait saying it increased security risks and sent the “wrong” signal, adding that Chinese forces monitored and warned the vessels.

A German navy ship is preparing to navigate through the strait between China and Taiwan despite Chinese protests, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed on Friday. "The message is very simple, one we have always maintained and I have always maintained: international waters are international waters,

The Taiwan Strait is a major trade route. Several countries' military ships use the waterway, including the U.S. But it's the first time in two decades that Germany's navy has done so, according to German media reports. The German ships were traveling from South Korea to the Philippines.

The United States sent a military aircraft to the Taiwan Strait, near China, on Tuesday after defense officials from the two sides discussed issues in relation to the contested waterway. The U.S. Navy said a P-8A "Poseidon" maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft passed over the Taiwan Strait in international airspace.

China claims it tailed US patrol plane flying through the Taiwan Strait - Chinese warplanes tailed a US military aircraft through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, China’s military said