Chinese Aircraft Carrier Travels Through Taiwan Strait After US, Canadian Warships Navigate Strait

China began holding another round of live-fire drills off the coast of its Fujian province just adjacent to the island of Taiwan just one week after holding a large sea and air drill

TAIPEI - The Chinese Liaoning carrier group passed through the Taiwan Strait just days after U.S. and Canadian warships passed through, which caused the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (China's PLA) to keep a "close eye" on the activities.

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Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo told reporters, "The Liaoning is passing through the Taiwan Strait now, sailing north along the west of the median line (of the passage) and we are closely monitoring it". 

He then issued a warning after Chinese naval forces practiced carrying out a blockade of the island that any blockade by China would be an "act of war" and would have a "very serious impact on the global economy". 

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense also released a statement on the activities of the carrier that navigated through the Strait that said, "The PLA Navy vessels, led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning, sailed through waters near Dongsha (the Pratas Islands) and continued northward toward the Taiwan Strait. The [Taiwanese Armed Forces] monitored the situation and responded accordingly."

US, Canada Also Recently Traveled Through The Taiwan Strait

On October 20th the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) passed through the Taiwan Strait, through what U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated was "through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law". 

Photos: The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) conducts bilateral operations with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) during routine operations in the Taiwan Strait, Oct. 20. Higgins is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

China's Eastern Theater Command said that it monitored the U.S. and Canadian vessels as they navigated the Taiwan Strait and issued warnings to the ships. It said, "The actions of the United States and Canada caused trouble and are disruptive to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.

The Chinese military said, "The US destroyer USS Higgins and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver sailed through the Taiwan Strait on October 20 and hyped it up publicly. Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson for the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command, slammed such provocative move in a written statement released on Monday."

"The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command had organized naval and air forces to track and monitor the US and Canadian naval vessels' transit in the whole course, and handled the situation according to law and regulations, said the spokesperson.

"The actions of the US and Canada have disturbed the situation and undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said the spokesperson, adding that the troops of the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command remain on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability."

The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense released a statement on the transit that said, "One United States and one Canadian naval vessel sailed through the Taiwan Strait from south to north yesterday. During this period, [Taiwanese Armed Forces] maintained full control over the surrounding sea and airspace, with the situation remaining normal".

US Indo-Pacific command: U.S. 7th Fleet Destroyer and The Royal Canadian Navy Conduct Bilateral Transit in the Taiwan Strait

Oct. 20, 2024

US Indo-Pacific Command: TAIWAN STRAIT – The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Oct. 20 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.

The ship transited through a high seas corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state. Higgins and Vancouver’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrated the United States’ and Canada’s commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle.

The international community’s navigational rights and freedoms in the Taiwan Strait should not be limited. The United States rejects any assertion of sovereignty or jurisdiction that is inconsistent with freedoms of navigations, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea and air.

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