China fumes as US ship sails in Taiwan Strait

BEIJING: China on Thursday blamed the US for tensions over Taiwan, protesting the passage of an American warship through the Taiwan Strait, as the two countries increase naval activities near the self-ruled island, claimed by Beijing as a breakaway region.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tracked and monitored the USS John S McCain, a guided missile destroyer, throughout its passage on Wednesday, Zhang Chunhui, spokesperson for the Chinese military’s eastern theatre command, said.

The US move sent the “wrong signal” to Taiwan’s government and “willfully disrupted the regional situation by endangering peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Zhang said. Beijing opposed the move and Chinese forces will respond with “strict precautions and vigilance,” he added.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said US ships engaging in “provocations... send a seriously wrong signal to the forces of Taiwan independence, threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

“Would a Chinese warship go to the Gulf of Mexico to make a show of strength?” he argued.

Earlier, the US Navy’s 7th fleet said the warship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait was made as per the international law. “The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S McCain conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit April 7 through international waters in accordance with international law. The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The US military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” said Mark Langford, 7th Fleet spokesperson. The same US warship had transited through the Taiwan Strait in February.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has often protested over the US stepping up support for the island through arms sales and by sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait.