Taipei, Taiwan — China’s military criticized the passage of a US destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, which occurred less than two weeks before the island’s new president takes office and as Washington and Beijing are making uneven efforts to restore military exchanges regular.
Senior Navy Captain. Li Xi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command, accused the United States of having “publicly exaggerated” the passage of the USS Halsey on Wednesday. In a statement, Li said the command, which oversees operations around the strait, “organized naval and air forces to monitor” the ship’s transit and handle matters “in accordance with laws and regulations.”
The Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the Halsey “conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on May 8 through waters where freedoms of navigation and overflight on the high seas apply in accordance with international law.”
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer transited a corridor in the Strait that is “beyond the territorial sea” of any coastal state, according to the fleet statement.
“Halsey’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to defending freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle,” it said. “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 wherever international law allows.”
The last such approval was on April 17, a day after the defense chiefs of the United States and China held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. Military-to-military contact stalled in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communications after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. China responded by firing missiles at Taiwan and mounting a surge of military maneuvers, including what appeared to be a rehearsal of a naval and air blockade of the island.
The critical strait is 160 kilometers (100 miles) wide and divides China from Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island where President-elect William Lai Ching-te will take office on May 20. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party favors the de facto independent status of Taiwan which maintains strong unofficial relations with the United States and other major nations.
Although the heavily trafficked strait is international water and vital to global trade, China views the passage of warships from the United States, Britain and other nations through the Taiwan Strait as a challenge to its sovereignty.
China sends warships and warplanes into the strait and other areas around the island almost daily to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and try to intimidate its 23 million people, who strongly support its de facto independence.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 23 Chinese military aircraft and eight warships were detected operating around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Thursday. Eight of the aircraft crossed the median line in the strait and entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, prompting Taiwan to deploy aircraft and put coastal missile batteries and naval ships on alert.