An American destroyer and a Canadian frigate crossed the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday (September 20th) in a new joint operation aimed at strengthening the route’s status as an international waterway.
The USS Higgins, an American destroyer and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver “made a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on September 20 (…) in accordance with international lawsaid the US Navy’s 7th Fleet.
Hype for China
Canada said HMCS Vancouver was on its way to join an ongoing mission to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea when it transited with USS Higgins. “Today’s routine transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates our commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific regionCanadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said in a statement, using a different term for the Asia-Pacific region.
Asked by state television CCTV, a spokesman for the Chinese army’s Eastern Command described the transit as “hype“, claiming that the Chinese troops were “still on heightened alert” for “defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity“.
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Freedom of navigation for the United States
Beijing believes that Taiwan is part of its territory and that the strait that separates the island from mainland China, and which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, belongs to it. The United States has a long history of “freedom of navigationto navigate through this strait and counter Chinese claims. Western allies are increasingly joining these operations.
This new US-Canadian military transit – the first in 11 months – came the day after President Joe Biden said that US troops could come to the aid of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Read alsoThe United States would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, assures Joe Biden
Declarations identical to three other previous speeches by the president, despite an old policy of “strategic ambiguityfrom Washington, intended to avoid a Chinese invasion and to discourage Taiwan from provoking Beijing by officially declaring its independence.
After each of Joe Biden’s statements, the White House said that US policy towards Taiwan had not changed.