China’s PLA watches as US warship sails through Taiwan Strait in ‘provocative’ move

Destroyer’s transit shows United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation, Seventh Fleet commander says
People’s Liberation Army spokesman accuses US military of ‘maliciously’ undermining peace and stability in the region

China’s military

Seong Hyeon Choi

Published: 3:00pm, 25 Jan 2024

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A US Navy warship transited the Taiwan Strait for the first time since the self-ruled island’s elections, a move the People’s Liberation Army said was “provocative” and “maliciously undermined” peace and stability.

In a statement, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, said that on Wednesday, the USS John Finn, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, had sailed through the Taiwan Strait and “publicly hyped” it.

He said the PLA monitored the US Navy vessel “throughout the entire process, and dealt with it in accordance with laws and regulations”.

The US Seventh Fleet commander said the warship had passed through a corridor in the strait “beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state”. Photo: US Seventh Fleet

“Recently, the US military has frequently carried out provocative actions and maliciously undermined regional peace and stability,” Shi said. “Troops in the theatre remain on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability.”

The US Seventh Fleet said the destroyer had conducted the transit in waters where “high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law”.

“The ship transited through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state. John Finn’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle,” Vice-Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the Seventh Fleet, said in the statement.

“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.”

It is the first time in a month that the US Navy has passed through the Taiwan Strait. In December, the Seventh Fleet’s P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane flew over the strait, prompting the PLA to send fighter jets to monitor and warn the US aircraft.

Wednesday’s transit was also the first by the US military since William Lai Ching-te, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected president of Taiwan on January 13. It is an unprecedented third term in power for the DPP, after Beijing had warned that re-electing the party could raise the risk of conflict across the strait.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited – by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to arming it.

Beijing and Washington have attempted to improve their damaged relations in recent months, with leaders Xi Jinping and Joe Biden pledging to restore military communications during talks in San Francisco in November. Military dialogue was suspended after Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022 when she was US House speaker, angering Beijing.

The two powers have made progress on military talks, including a conversation last month between General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Chinese counterpart General Liu Zhenli.

But military posturing in the region has continued. The US has deployed its third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, to the Seventh Fleet, which operates in the Indo-Pacific, the US Naval Institute’s online news portal USNI News reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, PLA activities have resumed around Taiwan, with aircraft making regular sorties near the island after a brief pause when the elections were held.