A US warship and a US Coast Guard cutter on Friday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, making the eighth transit under the administration of US President Joe Biden since he took office in January.
The passage comes amid a spike in military activity by China, and follows Chinese assault drills last week, with warships and fighter jets exercising off Taiwan to the southwest and southeast.
The USS Kidd, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, accompanied by the USCGC Munro, transited “through international waters in accordance with international law,” the US Navy said in a statement.
Photo: AP
“The ships’ lawful transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows,” it said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday confirmed the transit of the two US ships through the Strait, one sailing south to north and the other north to south.
It monitored the transit via joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools, the ministry said.
It also described the situation as “normal.”
China yesterday called the move “provocative,” saying that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command organized troops to follow, monitor and guard the course of the US ships’ operations.
Taiwan and the US in March signed an agreement establishing a coast guard working group to coordinate policy, following China’s passing of a law that allows its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels.
Before Friday’s transit, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed through the Strait on July 28.
Earlier this year, the USS John S. McCain sailed through the waters on Feb. 4 and April 7, the USS Curtis Wilbur on Feb. 24, May 18 and June 22, and the USS John Finn on March 10.
Friday was not the first time a US Coast Guard cutter has sailed through the Strait, but it was a reminder that the force is keeping vessels in the region and “engaging in more joint training and law enforcement diplomacy to help strengthen partner nation capacity vis-a-vis Chinese encroachments,” said Greg Poling, a maritime security expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Additional reporting by CNA
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”