British warship the HMS Richmond passed through the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, according to a social media post from the frigate.
“After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People’s Navy,” the message on Twitter said.
The type 23 Royal Navy frigate is one of the ships deployed with the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and her task group on a global mission to visit more than 40 nations.
Photo: EPA
The aircraft carrier and task group earlier this month made a port call in Yokohama, Japan.
The British embassy in Tokyo said at the time that the deployment was “a powerful demonstration of the UK’s close and enduring partnership with Japan and the UK’s commitment to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The passage through the Taiwan Strait came a week after British First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin told Nikkei Asia that the Taiwan Strait is “international waters” and it can be used by any nation, not just by China.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Minister of National Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said in Taipei that he was not aware of the exact mission of the British warship that was passing through the Taiwan Strait, but that the armed forces have a clear grasp of all foreign vessels operating near Taiwan and would not intervene.
In related news, Chiu yesterday told a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee at the legislature that Taiwan needs long-range, accurate weapons to properly deter a China that is rapidly developing systems it could use to attack the nation.
The government this month proposed extra defense spending of almost US$9 billion over the next five years, including on new missiles, as it warned of an urgent need to upgrade the nation’s weapons in the face of a “severe threat” from China.
Taiwan needs to let China know that it can defend itself, Chiu said.
“The missiles must be long-range, precise and mobile, so that the enemy can sense that we are prepared as soon as they dispatch their troops,” he said.
In a written report to the legislature, the ministry said that both medium and long-range missiles were being used in intercept drills at a key testing facility on the southeastern coast.
Chiu declined to give details of the range of those missiles.
The ministry gave an unusually stark assessment of China’s abilities in its annual report, saying it could “paralyze” Taiwan’s defenses and is able to fully monitor its deployments.
It is important that Taiwanese are aware of the danger facing them, Chiu said.
Asked what China would attack first in the event of a war, Chiu said that it would be Taiwan’s command and communications abilities.
“On this the Chinese communists’ abilities have rapidly increased. They can disrupt our command, control, communications and intelligence systems, for example with fixed radar stations certainly the first to be attacked,” he said. “So we must be mobile and stealthy.”
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS