A US and Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, a transit condemned by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson made the transit along with the Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa. “The ships transited through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” the Seventh Fleet said.
US transits of the Taiwan Strait are common, but they are vehemently opposed by China. In recent years, Canada has been frequently joining the US in its Taiwan Strait provocations, and the US Coast Guard has also appeared in the sensitive waterway.
A spokesman for the PLA said the US and Canada “hyped up” their latest Taiwan Strait transit and that Chinese troops were on high alert in response. “The Eastern Theatre Command of China’s PLA organized naval and air forces to trail their entire course and stand alert in accordance with laws and regulations,” said Col. Shi Yi.
“Troops in the theatre remain on constant high alert, and will resolutely protect national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” Shi added.
On Monday, a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed about 60 nautical miles to the south of Taiwan, a move Taiwanese analysts told The South China Morning Post was a response to the US and Canadian transit through the Strait and other US military activity in the region. The warship, the Shandong, was joined by more than a dozen PLA aircraft.
China has significantly stepped up its military activity around Taiwan since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a provocative visit to the island in August 2022. China’s increasing pressure on Taiwan is a direct response to the growing diplomatic and military ties between the US and Taiwan, which Beijing views as a violation of Washington’s one-China policy.
Source: AntiWar,
