US warship transits through Taiwan Strait, China calls transit a ‘provocative act’

Asia-Pacific, News, US February 27, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

A U.S. warship Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) sailed through the sensitive Taiwan strait on February 26 as China calls the transit a ‘provocative act’ by the United States.

The U.S Navy 7th Fleet said that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson made a “routine” transit through international waters “in accordance to the international laws”.

The 7th Fleet’s spokesperson Nicholas Lingo stated that “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows.”

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) is conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit Feb. 26 (local time) through international waters in accordance with international law.
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— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) February 26, 2022

Taiwan Defense Ministry also confirmed the transit by stating that the ship sailed in a northern direction through the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwanese military forces kept a close eye on the ship’s movement.

Taiwan strait is currently under a high state of alert due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Taiwanese and western officials are nervously speculating that China might try to take advantage of the situation and take over the island by force. This was the first time that a U.S. ship transited through the Taiwan strait since November 2021.

China also responded to the U.S. warship’s transit from the sensitive area. The spokesperson from the Eastern Command of People’s Liberation Army Navy termed the ship’s transit as a “provocative act” from U.S. Navy.

The transited ship USS Ralph Johnson is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the U.S. Navy which is the 64th of the 75 planned Arleigh Burke-class destroyer vessels. The ship was commissioned to the U.S. Navy’s Indo-Pacific Fleet in March 2018. Arleigh Burke-class is the longest produced class of ships for U.S. Navy surface combatants. USS Ralph Johnson’s roles included anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and anti-surface warfare as well as strike operations.

^{The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) steam in formation during dual carrier operations with the Nimitz and Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Groups. (Image Credit: U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Philip Wagner, Jr.)}

Following the ship’s transit, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry reported on Saturday that eight Chinese military aircraft, six fighter jets, and two anti-submarine aircraft, flew into the Taiwanese Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Like many other countries, the United States does not have any formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but holds a position of strategic ambiguity when it comes to acknowledging Taiwan’s independence. Beijing considers the Taiwan issue to be the most sensitive and important point for its relations with Washington. China has made it clear on several occasions that any confrontation on Taiwan’s status can lead to potential military conflict between the two countries.

Earlier this month, China’s Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang made a statement accusing the U.S. of encouraging Taiwan to seek independence. He stated that “If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict.”

China’s reservations on the U.S. Naval movement around the Taiwan strait during these sensitive times can only lead to further confrontation between the countries.