The U.S. military called it routine activity, but China called it “provocative” as a warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
According to the 7th Fleet, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson was transiting international waters on a “routine” basis.
“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” 7th Fleet spokesperson Nicholas Lingo said in a statement. “The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.“
Seriously, is THIS a good time to be posturing with China? As a sailboat captain, I generally have ‘right-of way’ over other ships (except in shipping lanes, etc). While that may be my general right, the survivors of the collision are usually the ones on the oil tanker. So “giving way’ MIGHT be the prudent course of action.
As opposed to getting on our high horse as it stumbles off of the cliff.
A spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command called the passage a “provocative act.“
According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, the ship sailed north through the Strait, and the country’s forces observed nothing unusual during its passage.
The government of Taiwan is on high alert because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerned that China might try to take advantage of the situation to make a move on Taiwan, even though no unusual moves have been reported from China.
Wow, that never even occurred to me. Anymore than the possibility that North Korea might end up back on the ol’ rader here in the next few days.
The Strait was transited roughly once a month by U.S. naval ships last year. Saturday’s sailing was the first since November, 2021. Great timing; glad to see that we thought that one all the way through.
In the past two years, China has repeatedly conducted air force missions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), provoking anger in Taipei.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that eight Chinese aircraft – six fighters and two anti-submarine aircraft – flew into its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea.
China considers Taiwan to be the most sensitive and important issue in its relationship with the United States.
Taiwan has no formal diplomatic relations with the United States, but it is Taiwan’s biggest international ally and arms supplier.
And since the U.S. is run by a dysfunctional and incompetent government, I can’t see any real reason China might decide to start eyeballing Taiwan now.
