USS Milius Performs Routine Transit Through Taiwan, Heightening Tensions with China

The American destroyer USS Milius “performed a routine transit through the Strait of Taiwan“, claimed by Beijing, Sunday April 16, announced the American Navy in a press release, specifying that these are “waters where the freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas applies in accordance with international law”.

“The vessel transited through a corridor in the strait beyond any territorial sea of ​​a coastal state,” the statement added. “The United States military flies, sails, and operates wherever international law permits.”

Washington regularly sends ships through the Taiwan Strait with the stated aim of promoting freedom of movement in the Indo-Pacific.

China was quick to react, saying it was carefully monitoring the passage of the ship. “Troops (…) continuously maintain a high level of alertness and resolutely uphold national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability,” said Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Chinese army, in a statement issued by the Eastern Theater of Operations. He accuses the United States of deliberately hyping up the incident.

Last week, the USS Milius sailed near the Spratly Islands, also claimed by Beijing in the Sea of Chine southern. The Chinese government then denounced an “illegal intrusion”.

Taiwan sealed off for three days

The passage of the American warship near Taiwan comes a week after extensive Chinese military exercises around the island. For three days, Chinese ships and warplanes had simulated a “closure” of Taiwan, in retaliation for a meeting in UNITED STATES between the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the US House of RepresentativesKevin McCarthy.

The exercises officially ended on April 10, but Chinese military ships and planes have continued to circulate around Taiwan ever since.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Monday it detected four Chinese ships and 18 aircraft, four of which entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

China views with displeasure the rapprochement in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States which, despite the absence of official relations, provides the island with substantial military support.

Beijing considers Taiwan as a province that it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. China is aiming for this reunification, by force if necessary.

With AFP and Reuters