Two US Warships Pass Through Taiwan Strait... Counter to China's 'Taiwan Blockade' Military Drills

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The United States has sent its warships to the Taiwan Strait. This move is in response to China’s continued attempts to nullify the median line of the Taiwan Strait following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last month.

On the 27th (local time), two U.S. Navy missile cruisers, the USS Chancellorsville and USS Antietam, were reported by major foreign media citing anonymous U.S. military officials to be passing through the international waters of the Taiwan Strait. This marks the first time U.S. forces have conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the Taiwan Strait since Speaker Pelosi’s visit.

Earlier, the U.S. had announced that its warships and military aircraft would transit the Taiwan Strait in response to China’s military exercises aimed at “blockading Taiwan” as retaliation for Pelosi’s visit.

Kurt Campbell, White House National Security Council (NSC) Indo-Pacific Coordinator, criticized China on the 12th during a press briefing, stating that China is using Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and to change the status quo. He made clear the U.S. intention to continue freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait.

Since the Taiwan blockade military exercises, China has been sending military aircraft and warships beyond the median line of the Taiwan Strait into the eastern sea and airspace, attempting to undermine the median line.

The median line of the Taiwan Strait was declared in December 1954 after the U.S.-Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty and was established in 1955 by U.S. Air Force General Benjamin Davis as a boundary to prevent military conflict. It has been regarded as a de facto boundary between the two sides.

The U.S. emphasizes that the transit of its warships through the Taiwan Strait poses no issues under international law. In the past, U.S. warships or military aircraft transited the Taiwan Strait about once a year, but recently, alongside increased Chinese military activity in the South China Sea, it has become almost a monthly occurrence.

Last month, the destroyer USS Benfold passed through; in June, the P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft; in April, the Aegis destroyer USS Sampson; in February, the destroyer USS Ralph Johnson; and in January, the Aegis destroyer USS Dewey transited the Taiwan Strait.

China has not yet responded to the recent U.S. cruisers’ transit through the Taiwan Strait but is expected to strongly oppose it. China claims that since Taiwan is “part of Chinese territory,” the Taiwan Strait falls within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and therefore foreign warship activities are restricted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.