The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday.
British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.”
Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations.
Photo courtesy of the British Royal Navy via CNA
Lammy replied “yes” to both questions.
The Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, on Wednesday last week sailed through the Taiwan Strait after participating in joint exercises in the East China Sea with Australia, Japan, South Korea and the US, the Royal Navy said at the time.
On Monday, the Spey and Australia’s HMAS Sydney carried out a freedom of navigation operation in waters surrounding the Taiwan-claimed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea.
In September 2021, the Spey and the HMS Tamar, another River-class vessel, departed from the UK to begin deployments in the Indo-Pacific region that would last at least five years, Royal Navy reports said.
Before Wednesday last week, the Spey was confirmed to have traveled through the Taiwan Strait at least once during its Indo-Pacific deployment, including a transit in the first half of last year.
The Royal Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, departed England in late April to begin an operational deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, in Lammy’s statement to the House of Commons on the British government’s approach to China following the cross-Whitehall audit, he said that “our approach to China must stay rooted both in international law and deterrence... And we will continue to work with our regional partners to support freedom of navigation and call out China’s abuses.”
“We will not change our long-standing position on Taiwan, while sustaining unofficial, but vibrant ties with Taiwan on trade, on education and innovation. We will also never shy away from shining a spotlight on human rights, notably the situations in Xinjiang and Tibet,” he said.
In related news, the UK in a national security policy paper published on Tuesday highlighted the importance of regional stability in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
“The centrality of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait to global trade and supply chains underscores the importance to the UK of regional stability,” the paper said.
Titled “National Security Strategy 2025: Security for the British People in a Dangerous World,” the paper said that “there is a particular risk of escalation around Taiwan.”
“It is the UK’s position that the Taiwan issue should be resolved peacefully by the people on both sides of the strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion,” it said.
“We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo,” it added.
The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan “in a wide range of areas” as a part of a “strong unofficial relationship” founded on shared democratic values, it said.
Taiwan was mentioned four times in the 50-page national security paper, all within one section.
The UK’s position on Taiwan has not fundamentally changed over the past five years, but the paper shows that it is increasingly concerned over rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
British Secretary of State for Defence John Healey on April 22 told a parliamentary session that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region are not only crucial for countries within the region, but also for the UK.
Any “discussion on the future of Taiwan is necessarily one to be conducted by peaceful negotiation rather than by threats and conflict,” Healey said.
The UK hopes China would recognize that London is deeply concerned about security, peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
The security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are indivisible — a principle shared by NATO and other allies, the policy paper said.
The likelihood of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region is increasing and China’s actions continue to threaten international security, it said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it welcome’s Lammy’s remark about the UK not changing its position on Taiwan, and sustaining ties with the nation.
The UK’s National Security Strategy stresses the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, highlighting that it is a consensus of the international community, the ministry said, adding that Taiwan plays an indispensable role in global and regional security and prosperity.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS