China has warned Britain and the US against sending their warships through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Both the American destroyer USS Higgins and HMS Richmond, a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, sailed between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland on Friday.

Senior colonel Shi Yi, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), claimed the military vessels were “engaged in disturbance and provocation” and were tracked by Chinese naval and air forces.

He added: “The actions of the United States and Britain send the wrong signals and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

The Ministry of Defence described the sailing as routine and said the Navy acts “in full compliance with international law and norms, and exercises freedom of navigation rights in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”.

The US Indo-Pacific command also said the move was routine as the strait was “beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state”.

Britain, the US and other countries view the Taiwan Strait as international waters open to all vessels.