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.
More from Defence Notes
-
Turning the Hiroshima Accord into Action: Enhancing UK-Japan Defence Collaboration (Studio)
The UK-Japan strategic partnership leverages joint defence initiatives, advanced technologies, and SME integration to enhance military capabilities, foster innovation, and ensure regional and global stability through collective action and effective project management.
-
NATO countries outline strategies to accelerate defence industrial production
During the Washington Summit, member states also agreed to improve manufacturing capacities across the alliance and continue investing in joint projects with Ukraine.
-
Why the US military needs an “innovation intervention”
Several issues in the Pentagon’s structure and the defence industrial base have been hampering the country's efforts to produce cutting-edge solutions.