US warship transits Taiwan Strait
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TAIPEI • A United States warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait separating Taiwan and China yesterday, the navy said, the second such passage this year.
The voyage by the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson was a routine transit, the US Seventh Fleet said. "The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The US military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows."
Taiwan's Defence Ministry confirmed that a US vessel was sailing through the strait, adding that its military was "fully monitoring relevant activities near our sea and air, and the situation was normal".
Taiwan is in a heightened state of alert following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, nervous that China may take advantage of the situation.
US warships periodically conduct exercises in the strait, often triggering angry responses from Beijing, which claims Taiwan and the surrounding waters as its own territory. The US and many other countries view the route as international waters open to all.
The US has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and arms supplier.
British, Canadian, French and Australian warships have sailed through the strait in recent years, sparking protests from Beijing.
Dr Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, who keeps a database of declared US transits through the strait, said there were nine in 2019, 15 in 2020 and 12 last year. There were two this year, including the USS Ralph Johnson crossing.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
