Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Friday that an Australian warship had crossed the Taiwan Strait, the waterway that separates the autonomous island from neighboring mainland China, the day before, AFP reported.

As Agerpres reports, the ship entered the strait on Thursday and headed south.

“During the passage through the strait, the Taiwanese military monitored the situation from the sea and the air, and the situation was normal,” he said.

The 180-kilometer-wide strait is an important passage for international shipping, but it poses a geopolitical problem for Beijing, which claims the self-governing, democratic island as part of its territory.

Taiwan’s military reports almost daily passage of ships through its waters, as well as incursions of Chinese military aircraft into its air defense zone.

The United States sends its warships into the Taiwan Strait for “routine” transits. In recent years, British, Canadian, French and Australian warships have made the crossing, angering Beijing.

Thursday’s crossing of the strait follows a visit to Beijing by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in early November.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and Australia could become “reliable partners” after years of tension between the two countries. For his part, Anthony Albanese welcomed the “definitely very positive” progress in bilateral relations.

But last week Australia’s defense minister said several divers were “probably” injured by sonar pulses from a Chinese warship off the coast of Japan.

Anthony Albanese said the Chinese warship behaved “dangerously (…) and unprofessionally” at sea, which Beijing considers “reckless and irresponsible accusations against China”.