US destroyers pass disputed waterway
TAIPEI: Two United States warships entered the Taiwan Strait which separates Taiwan and China on Saturday morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry confirmed. The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
“The military is monitoring the situation in neighbouring areas, and has the confidence and ability to maintain regional stability and defend national security,” it said in a statement.
A defence ministry official said the ships were in the strait until Saturday night, sailing in what he said is international waters.
US Pacific Fleet spokesperson Captain Charlie Brown confirmed two vessels were transiting through the strait but played down the significance of the manoeuvre.
“US Navy ships transit between the South China Sea and the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait and have done so for many years,” he said.
But the warships’ entry into the strait comes as Washington and Beijing are locked in a trade war and as tensions escalate between Beijing and Taipei.
US President Donald Trump on Friday rolled out 25% tariffs on US$34 billion (about 1.1 trillion baht) of Chinese goods in what Beijing called the “largest trade war” in economic history.
China said it was hitting back with retaliatory measures on US goods but did not immediately provide precise details.
China sees self-ruling democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, by force if necessary, but the island regards itself as a sovereign country. The two sides split after a civil war in 1949.
Although the US does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is its biggest arms supplier and most powerful ally.
China has stepped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since Beijingsceptic President Tsai Ing-wen took office two years ago as her government refuses to acknowledge that the island is part of “One China”.
Beijing has staged military exercises in the region, including a drill in the Taiwan Strait in April, which it said was aimed at Taiwan’s “independence forces”.