A US destroyer and a Canadian frigate conducted a “routine” transit of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday — their second joint passage in two months — to demonstrate a commitment “to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the 7th Fleet of the US Pacific Command said yesterday.
In a statement, the US 7th Fleet said that the “unremarkable [and] unprovocative” transit by the USS Rafael Peralta, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, and the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate the HMCS Ottawa was made “through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.”
The transit was made through “a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state” to “demonstrate the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US 7th Fleet said.
Photo from the HMCS Ottawa’s Facebook page
“Cooperation like this represents the centerpiece of our approach to a secure and prosperous region where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” it said.
The Ministry of National Defense later confirmed the transit, saying in a statement that the military was on top of the situation as one US destroyer and one Canadian frigate sailed northward in the Taiwan Strait, and it did not see any irregularities.
China yesterday said its troops were “on constant high alert” after the transit.
“Troops in the theater remain on constant high alert, and will resolutely protect national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” Senior Colonel Shi Yi (施毅), a spokesman for China’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement.
Shi slammed the latest transit as “public hype” and said its naval and air forces had “trailed their entire course.”
US warships have been making routine, almost monthly passages through the Taiwan Strait for more than two years, occasionally accompanied by vessels from allied nations such as Canada.
The last voyage made by US and Canadian warships was on Sept. 9 by the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa.
Taipei has welcomed such transits, describing them as beneficial to promoting regional peace and stability.
Additional reporting by AFP
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