‘The international community’s navigational rights and freedoms in the Taiwan Strait should not be limited,’ U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said.
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Oct. 20, less than a week after communist China conducted military exercises around Taiwan.
The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet issued a statement on Oct. 20 saying that the destroyer USS Higgins and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver made a “routine” transit a day earlier “through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.”
The transit through the Taiwan Strait, one of the busiest waterways in the world, demonstrated Washington’s and Ottawa’s “commitment to upholding freedom of navigation” for all countries, according to the statement.
“The international community’s navigational rights and freedoms in the Taiwan Strait should not be limited. The United States rejects any assertion of sovereignty or jurisdiction that is inconsistent with freedoms of navigations, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea and air,” it reads.
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait are escalating because of the Chinese regime’s continued coercion and military threats against Taiwan. On Oct. 14, China launched a large-scale, one-day military exercise around the island, deploying its navy, air force, rocket force, and coast guard.
The Chinese military operation drew international condemnation, with the Pentagon calling it “irresponsible, disproportionate, and destabilizing.”
Beijing rejects the view that the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway, arguing that it has sole jurisdiction over the body of water. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province, even though it has never ruled the island since seizing power on the mainland in 1949.
Responding to the transit by the U.S. and Canadian warships, China’s Eastern Command accused the two countries of “causing trouble” and “undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” according to a statement.
The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement thanking Canada and the United States for taking action to affirm the Taiwan Strait’s status as an international waterway.
“This is the fourth time in the past two years that the United States and Canada have jointly sailed through the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating the determination of democratic allies to take concrete actions to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait,” the ministry stated.
The ministry noted that the Taiwanese government will continue strengthening its self-defense and “resolutely fight against the expansion of authoritarianism.”
The U.S. Navy, occasionally accompanied by ships from U.S. allies, transits the strait about once a month.
U.S. destroyer USS Rafael Peralta and Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa jointly transited the Taiwan Strait in November 2023, according to the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet.
On Oct. 19, defense ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) democracies issued a joint statement from their meeting in Naples, Italy, expressing support for peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“We reaffirm that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity,” said the G7 defense ministers, who represent Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States.
“We are concerned about provocative actions, particularly the recent People’s Liberation Army military drills around Taiwan. There is no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated one China policies. We call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”
The United States has a “One China” policy, which asserts that there is only one sovereign state with the name “China,” but it is different from the “One China principle” under which the CCP asserts sovereignty over Taiwan.
The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry stated that it “sincerely appreciates” the support from G7 member states.
“As a responsible member of the Indo-Pacific community, Taiwan will continue to strengthen cooperation with G7 member countries and take concrete actions to uphold the core values of democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law,” the ministry said in a statement.
“It will work in solidarity with like-minded partners to safeguard the rules-based international order and promote prosperity and stability in the region and throughout the world.”
Reuters contributed to this report.