Taiwanese officials reached out to the US to discuss expediting the delivery of F-16 jets, the U.S. and Canadian warship guarded Taiwan last week.

The U.S. military said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed through the narrow waterway that separates Taiwan from its giant neighbour China along with the Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipeg on Thursday and Friday.

Dewey’s and Winnipeg’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it added.

American Navy ships have been transiting the strait roughly monthly.

Taiwanese officials have reportedly reached out to the US to discuss the possibility of expediting the delivery of F-16 jets to Taiwan.

While the “Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific Command has watched with increasing concern as Communist China has rapidly modernized its military and improved its training with an eye to Taiwan, the US Department of State is wary of taking a more aggressive stance against China, a CNN report said.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has discussed with Taiwanese officials the possibility of expediting the delivery of American-made F-16s to Taiwan, according to Taiwanese and US officials familiar with the talks, the report said.