A US destroyer and a Canadian frigate crossed the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday (September 20) in a new joint operation aimed at boosting the route’s status as an international waterway.
The USS Higgins, an American destroyer and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver “conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on September 20 (…) in accordance with international lawsaid the US Navy’s 7th Fleet.
hype about China
Canada said HMCS Vancouver is on course to join an ongoing mission to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea when it is traversed by the USS Higgins. “Today’s routine transit through the Taiwan Straits demonstrates our commitment to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific regionCanadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said in a statement, using a different term for the Asia-Pacific region.
When asked by state broadcaster CCTV, a spokesman for the Chinese Army’s Eastern Command described the transit as “hype” and claimed that the Chinese troops were “still on high alert” to the “Defense of national sovereignty and territorial integrity“.
SEE ALSO – “No resistance to the 1.4 billion Chinese”: After Joe Biden’s comments on Taiwan, China raises the tone
Freedom of Navigation for the United States
Beijing believes Taiwan is part of its territory and that the strait that separates the island from mainland China, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, is part of it. The United States has a long history of “freedom of navigationto navigate through this strait and counter Chinese claims. Western allies are increasingly joining these operations.
This new US-Canadian military transit – the first in 11 months – came the day after President Joe Biden said US troops could come to the aid of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
also readJoe Biden assures that the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion
Statements identical to three other previous Presidential speeches, despite an old policy of “strategic ambiguityfrom Washington to prevent a Chinese invasion and prevent Taiwan from provoking Beijing with an official declaration of independence.
After every statement by Joe Biden, the White House said US policy towards Taiwan had not changed.
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