(CNN) In a move that could heighten tensions between Washington and Beijing, two US Navy destroyers have sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a US Navy official has confirmed to CNN.

The warships, the USS Mustin and USS Benfold, headed north, the official said, and are the first American warships to pass through the strait since July 2017, when the USS John S. McCain made the transit. The move, which several news outlets have reported, comes amid increasing strain between the Trump administration and China over trade, North Korea and the South China Sea.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Charlie Brown called the passage of the ships "a routine transit."

"US Navy ships transit between the South China Sea and East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, and have done so for many years," Brown said.

Beijing is perceived as sensitive to US military vessels traveling through the strait and continues to lay claim to Taiwan, a self-governed, democratic island, which it views as a breakaway province. The US Navy has not sailed an aircraft carrier in that area since 2007.

Read More