The fifth such transit since
president joe biden took office in
january, prompting an angry protest from
the people's liberation army.
Analysts said u.s navy transits through
the waterway were becoming the norm as
were warnings from the PLA in response
and they were raising the risk of
conflict given the tensions and lack of
communications between the two sides.
The u.s navy's seventh fleet said the
arleigh burke-class guided missile
destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur had
conducted a routine taiwan strait
transit on tuesday, in accordance with
international law.
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The ship's transit through the taiwan
strait demonstrates the u.s commitment
to a free and open indo-pacific, the
statement said.
The u.s military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international
law allows. PLA eastern theater command spokesman
senior Colonel Zhang Chunwee on
wednesday called the latest passage
through the strait, a provocation.
The u.s
move sends the wrong signals to
taiwanese independence-leaning forces
deliberately disrupting and sabotaging
the regional situation and endangering
peace and stability across the taiwan
strait, he said.
Beijing sees self-ruled taiwan as part
of its territory and has not renounced
the use of force to bring it under
mainland control. While the warship was transiting the
strait, u.s anti-submarine patrol and
reconnaissance aircraft in a spy plane
were flying over the south china sea, according to the south china sea
strategic situation probing initiative.
The beijing-based think tank which
monitors military activity in the region
tweeted that the aircraft were probably
providing the intelligent support for
the warship.
Xi Yin Hong a professor of international
relations at renmin university of china
in beijing said both the PLA and the u.s
military recognized that the taiwan
strait could become a dangerous place if
tensions continue to rise.
The risk is intensifying as almost all
communication channels have been stuck
since that first phone call between
chinese president Xi jinping and Biden
in february and the china u.s meeting in
anchorage alaska, he said referring to
heated talks between officials in march.
But it seems like the two militaries are
using another approach with routine
transits and warnings becoming the norm
since then. Xi said the fact the response came from
the PLA rather than the chinese defense
ministry meant the situation is not so
bad.
The PLA's eastern theater command which
is responsible for the east coast and
the strait that separates mainland china
from taiwan. Made a similar statement
after the u.s sent the USS John Finn
guided missile destroyer through the
waterway in march.
Taipei-based defense expert and media
commentator Kaila Yi said the warship's
passage could be seen as a message that
washington would keep its promise to
maintain peace and stability in the
taiwan strait. The u.s transit aims to warn the chinese
communist party not to miscalculate the
current situation and it's also an
exhortation to the PLA not to be rashed, Kai said.
He noted that the u.s warship had
avoided crossing over the median line of
the strait. The unofficial boundary
between taiwan and mainland china. If u.s warships pass that midline, the PLA would have an excuse to make a
critical response Kai said.
