China is criticizing the US for allowing ships to pass through the Taiwan Strait, weeks before its new leader takes office

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s military has criticized the passage of a U.S. destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, which took place less than two weeks before the island’s new president took office, as Washington and Beijing make uneven efforts to to restore regular military exchanges.

Navy Senior Capt. Li Xi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command, accused the U.S. of “publicly hyping” the passage of the USS Halsey on Wednesday. In a statement, Li said the command, which oversees operations around the strait, “has organized the naval and air forces to monitor the ship’s transit and handle its affairs” in accordance with law and order. regulations.

The Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Halsey “conducted a routine transit of the Taiwan Strait on May 8 through waters where freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas applies in accordance with international law.”

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer passed through a corridor in the Strait that is “outside the territorial sea” of any coastal state, the fleet statement said.

“Halsey’s passage through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation as a principle for all nations,” the report said. “No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms. The U.S. military flies, sails and operates wherever international law allows.”

The last such passage was on April 17, a day after the US and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to defuse regional tensions. Military-to-military contact came to a standstill in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communications after then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. China responded by firing missiles over Taiwan and carrying out a wave of military maneuvers, including what appeared to be a rehearsal of a naval and air blockade of the island.

The critical strait is 160 kilometers wide and separates China from Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy where newly elected President William Lai Ching-te will be inaugurated on May 20. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party favors the de facto independent status of Taiwan, which maintains strong unofficial ties with the US and other major countries.

Although the heavily trafficked straits are international waters and vital to global trade, China views the passage of warships from the US, Britain and other countries through the Taiwan Strait as a challenge to its sovereignty.

China sends naval ships and warplanes into the straits and other areas around the island almost every day to weaken Taiwan’s defenses and intimidate the 23 million people who firmly support their de facto independence.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 23 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval ships were active in the Taiwan area in the 24 hours leading up to 6 a.m. Thursday. Eight of the planes crossed the center line in the strait and entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, prompting Taiwan to take off fighter jets and put coastal missile batteries and naval vessels on alert.

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