‘The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows,’ U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet stated.
The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson passed through the Taiwan Strait on Aug. 22, prompting a warning from China.
The strait is a narrow waterway separating China and Taiwan by about 80 miles, where the Chinese military has been regularly conducting exercises while increasing its rhetoric about seizing Taiwan.
The 7th Fleet stated that it was a routine transit in accordance with international law.
“The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” the statement reads. “No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.”
Over the past three decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been making territorial claims in the South China Sea that it says are justified by domestic laws.
The claims run counter to international law, which designates several waterways as free international waters and others as the coastal territory of other sovereign nations.
The CCP has continued to ignore these international laws, despite diplomatic protests and international condemnation.
The U.S. Navy 7th Fleet stated that the passage through the Taiwan Strait “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle.”
The CCP’s response to the USS Ralph Johnson transit took the tone of its past responses to international vessels traversing the South China Sea, with the regime claiming that nations are undermining peace and provoking China.
The CCP’s military described the sailing as “public hype.” It said it sent naval and air forces to monitor and warn the U.S. ship and would “deal with it in accordance with the law and regulations.”
“Troops in the theatre remain on high alert at all times and will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” the Chinese People’s Liberation Army stated.
In May, the U.S. State Department called for de-escalation after what it described as military provocations by the Chinese military, which conducted two days of attack drills off the coast of Taiwan.
The United States sent other vessels through the strait earlier this year, as did Canada. Germany is set to send two warships through next month. The United States, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines have all conducted military exercises in the South China Sea, with a focus on deterrence.
At least one-third of the world’s trade passes through the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait is a key route, handling 44 percent of the world’s container fleet and more than 80 percent of the largest ships. Taiwan also manufactures about 90 percent of the world’s most advanced microchips.
As the CCP looks to gain territory and control over portions of the South China Sea, it has also passed new domestic laws that it claims give the Chinese military the authority to police the waters. Last year, the CCP issued new rules allowing its coast guard to detain foreigners whom the regime accuses of trespassing in the disputed waters.