Photo: MC3 GRAY GIBSON/US NAVY/ZUMA WIRE/IMAGO / copyright
Warships from the United States and Canada transited through the Taiwan Straitreported the navies of both countries, in a joint mission in this area that separates the autonomous island from mainland China.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to regain control one day, without ruling out the use of force.
Relations between the two territories have deteriorated in recent years, with growing military and political pressures from Beijing towards the island.
The US 7th Fleet announced Saturday that its destroyer “USS Chung-Hoon” and the Royal Canadian Navy “HMCS Montreal” were “undertaking a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on June 3.”
In these waters “freedoms of navigation and overflight on the high seas apply in accordance with international law,” the US Navy said.
The transit of ships through the area demonstrates “the commitment of the United States and our partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific“he added.
During the tour of the US and Canadian vessels, a Chinese ship maneuvered in a “dangerous manner” near a US destroyer that was transiting the Taiwan Strait, the US military reported on Saturday.
It is the second mishap between Chinese and US military aircraft in less than 10 days, after Washington deemed it an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” by a Beijing fighter against one of its surveillance planes last week.
The Peking ship “overtook Chung-Hoon to port and crossed her bow at 150 yards (137 meters). Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 (knots) to avoid a collision,” Washington said in the statement.
“Maliciously undermining peace”
It is common to see ships from the United States transit through the strait, but rarely do so together with ships from another country. The last time a joint mission was carried out in this area dates back to September 2022.
In a message on Twitter, Canada’s navy maintained that both countries were “partners [que] operate for peace and security in the region“.
The Chinese military said it had supervised the passage of the ship.
“Relevant countries are intentionally creating trouble in the Taiwan Strait, deliberately intensifying risks, and maliciously undermining regional peace and stability,” said Col. Shi Yi, a military spokesman.
Last week, the Chinese aircraft carrier “Shandong” and two other ships crossed this 180-kilometer-wide zonein a new show of force after the military maneuvers that China carried out around the island in April.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent months. The relations that the United States maintains with Taiwan have been one of the points of friction between both powers.
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