China vexed by US Navy ships sailing through Taiwan Strait
China expressed concern on 29 November after two US Navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the third such operation this year.
‘China will pay close attention to and stay informed of US warships sailing through the Taiwan Strait from beginning to end, and has already expressed its concern to the US,’ said Chinese foreign ministry official spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing in Beijing 29 November.
He urged the US to respect the ‘One China Principle’ to avoid ‘impairing China-US relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait’.
China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949.
That means Beijing views any ships passing through the straits as essentially a breach of its sovereignty - while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all.
At a monthly press briefing by China’s defence ministry 29 November, official spokesman Ren Guoqiang said that the People’s Liberation Army would maintain a ‘high degree of alert’.
Lieutenant Rachel McMarr, a spokeswoman for the US Pacific Fleet, said the destroyer USS Stockdale and oiler USNS Pecos sailed through the strait in a ‘routine’ transit on 28 November.
‘The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,’ McMarr said in a statement.
‘The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.’
Beijing protested after the US Navy sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on October 22.
The naval tensions come just days before scheduled talks between US president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina this week.
Trump is expected to press Xi to avert the stepped-up tariffs by throwing open china’s markets to US competition and protecting foreign companies’ intellectual property.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
-
![US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule]()
US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule
The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.
-
![Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align]()
Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is the country’s first strategic partner under the Defence Industrial Strategy’s Strategic Partnership Framework, an effort to provide companies with confidence to invest and boost the defence labour force.
-
![New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”]()
New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”
The UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces Louise Sandher-Jones made her first appearance in the role before the House of Commons Defence Committee this week to highlight efforts to improve capability in the High North.
-
![Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes]()
Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes
Ottawa explores expanding defence-industrial cooperation with Washington into sensitive programmes, an approach that could reshape NORAD modernisation, strengthen North American supply chains and create new opportunities for defence contractors.
