#China #condemns #passage #warships #Taiwan #Strait
China on Wednesday called Washington a “destroyer of peace” in the Taiwan Strait after tracking the latest in a series of passages by US warships through the waterway.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory to one day be reclaimed – and the narrow body of water separating the island and mainland China is a flashpoint between the two sides.
Contrary to Beijing’s position, the United States and other countries regard the strait as part of international waters and therefore open to all, and this year a US warship has passed the route almost every month.
On Tuesday, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold “was conducting a routine cross-strait transit of international waters,” the U.S. Seventh Fleet said in a statement.
“The ship passed through a corridor in the strait that lies beyond the territorial sea of a coastal state,” it added.
China’s Eastern Theater Command said Wednesday it deployed naval and air forces to “follow and monitor the entire process.”
“The frequent US provocations and showboating fully demonstrate that the United States is a destroyer of cross-strait peace and stability and a risk-taker,” said its spokesman Col. Shi Yi.
He added that Chinese armed forces are always “on high alert to resolutely uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it closely monitored the destroyer’s passage and “the situation is normal.”
Clashes erupted between Taipei and Beijing in June after Beijing reiterated its position that the straits are not international waters and accused China of using its territorial claims to threaten peace in the region.
British, Canadian, French and Australian warships have all made passages through the Taiwan Strait in recent years, sparking protests from Beijing.
Tuesday’s passage of the USS Benfold coincided with a visit to Taiwan by former US defense chief Mark Esper, who called Taiwan “a good friend that we must support and defend” during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen.
Esper said it is time Washington “removed strategic ambiguity” about whether it would intervene militarily on Taiwan’s behalf.
“Strategic ambiguity” is the longstanding United States policy toward Taiwan, intended both to repel a Chinese invasion and to prevent the island territory from ever officially declaring independence.
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