The Ministry of National Defense yesterday confirmed the passage of a US warship and a US supply ship through the Taiwan Strait on Monday.
The ships sailed northward and left the Strait in the early hours of yesterday morning, the ministry said.
The military was fully aware of the situation and there were no unusual incidents, it added.
The two ships were the USS Stethem and the USNS Cesar Chavez, a statement released by the US Pacific Fleet said.
“This routine transit through international waters of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The US Department of Defense “will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” it said.
Monday’s event was the second time this year that US military vessels have passed through the Strait, and the fifth such passage in the past eight months.
The US Navy on Jan. 24 sailed the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS McCampbell and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl through the Strait.
Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) rejected speculation that the US decision to send military vessels through the Strait indicated a problem with regional stability, the Central News Agency reported.
The Taiwanese military has the ability to ensure safety in the Taiwan Strait, an unnamed military official said.
Last autumn, Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels began carrying out routine patrols along the median line of the Strait, the official said, adding that in the past, China generally only sent military vessels through the Strait to carry out specific missions.
Taiwan, on the other hand, has been sending navy vessels on routine patrols in the Strait for decades, the official added.
The PLAN’s routine patrols have increased pressure on Taiwan to be prepared militarily so that, now, the military mainly dispatches Cheng Kung-class frigates, with Knox-class frigates serving as support, the official said.
In urgent situations, it might also dispatch fast-attack missile boats to monitor the region, the official said.
Due to safety concerns and in accordance with military preparedness, when a Chinese military vessel enters the Strait, Taiwan sends a vessel to monitor the situation, the official said.
“Where [Chinese military vessels] are, we will be,” the official said, adding that the military would not miss detecting any vessels.
The source did not respond as to whether military vessels from Taiwan, the US and China were ever observed in the same waters, monitoring each other.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to