(CNN) The US Navy sailed two ships through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, according to the US Pacific Fleet, which oversees operations in the area.

The guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell and the USNS Walter S. Diehl "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait Transit" that was "in accordance with international law," US Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman told CNN.

"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows," Gorman added.

The US Navy also sailed two ships through the Strait in October and November, operations that were shadowed by multiple Chinese warships.

The US had conducted a similar operation in July. Prior to that, the transits occurred only about once a year.

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