US and Canadian ships sail through the Taiwan Strait, China, on high alert

Posted On: October 31, 2022

TAIPEI, KOMPAS.com – An American destroyer and frigate Canada navigate through Taiwan Strait on Tuesday (20/9/2022).

The two naval vessels are said to have sailed there to bolster the status of the Taiwan Strait as an international waterway.

The American destroyer is USS Higgins, while the Canadian frigate is HMCS Vancouver.

The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the two ships made a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in accordance with international law.

“The ship was transiting through a corridor in a strait that is outside the territory of any country,” the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said. AFP.

Meanwhile, Canada reported that HMCS Vancouver had sailed with USS Higgins through the Taiwan Strait en route to join the ongoing mission to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea.

“Today’s routine transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates our commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” said Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand.

A spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command China Colonel Shi Yi said the latest trip through the Taiwan Strait has attracted attention.

“The troops are always on high alert, resolutely resisting all threats and provocations, and resolutely defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Shi said, according to Chinese state media CCTV.

In recent years, military ships from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Australia have sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a move that has sparked protests from Beijing.

Countries also frequently send military vessels through the South China Sea, a key sea in which Beijing claims the majority of the waters.

The last time American and Canadian warships crossed the Taiwan Strait was 11 months ago, when the destroyer USS Dewey and the frigate HMCS Winnipeg made the trip.

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