China Condemns U.S. Navy Patrol In Taiwan Strait, Calls It A Security Threat

In a recent development, the U.S. Navy has deployed two of its warships to patrol the Taiwan Strait this week, a move which China has strongly criticised.

The USS Ralph Johnson, a guided-missile destroyer, and the USNS Bowditch, a survey ship, carried out the passage between Monday and Wednesday.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command confirmed the movement, calling it a routine transit in international waters. This is the first mission of its kind since President Donald Trump took office last month.

A U.S. Navy spokesperson, Commander Matthew Comer, stated that the patrol was conducted in a corridor beyond any country’s territorial seas. He said that all nations have the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in this waterway.

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command immediately responded, deploying naval and air forces to monitor the U.S. ships.

PLA spokesperson Colonel Li Xi accused the U.S. of sending the wrong signals and escalating security risks in the region. He added that Chinese forces are on high alert and are determined to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and regional stability.

China considers the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan itself as part of its territory, though international law defines territorial waters as 12 nautical miles (22 km) from a country’s coastline.

The Taiwan Strait, which spans 180 km (111 miles), is recognised by the U.S. and its allies as an international waterway. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had tracked the U.S. patrol but said the passage proceeded without any issues.

The U.S. routinely sends naval ships through the Taiwan Strait, sometimes joined by allied forces from Canada, France, Japan and the Netherlands.

Recently, a U.S. aircraft conducted an air patrol over the Taiwan Strait in November and U.S. and Canadian naval ships conducted a joint patrol of the waterway in December.

These missions, known as freedom of navigation exercises, are meant to challenge China’s territorial claims and reinforce that the strait remains international waters.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and has vowed to reunify it with the mainland by 2047, even by force if necessary. Beijing strongly opposes any foreign interference in Taiwan’s affairs.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, stated that Taiwan is a core interest of China and warned that China would never allow outside interference in its sovereignty.

China regularly conducts military drills and air incursions near Taiwan, a tactic known as “grey zone” warfare.

The U.S. shifted official diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it still is Taiwan’s strongest supporter under the Taiwan Relations Act, which commits the U.S to provide weapons for Taiwan’s defence.

Historically, the U.S. has followed a policy of strategic ambiguity–not explicitly stating whether it would defend Taiwan in case of an attack. But Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, repeatedly stated that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.

References: Aljazeera, Reuters

Source: Maritime Shipping News