US, Canadian warships move through Taiwan Strait

A guided-missile destroyer of the US 7th Fleet coordinated with a Canadian navy warship to pass through the Taiwan Strait.

The USS Chung-hoon, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, transited the Taiwan Strait with the Canadian Navy's Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal, the 7th Fleet announced on June 3. The US said the two ships were moving "in international waters" and were exercising freedom of navigation and overflight under international law.

"The Chung-hoon and Montreal's coordinated transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo- Pacific ," the 7th Fleet described the operation.

The Canadian military described the voyage as demonstrating the US-Canada partnership "for regional peace and security."

Canadian Navy missile frigate HMCS Montreal transits the Taiwan Strait on June 3. Photo: U.S Navy — Canadian Navy missile frigate HMCS Montreal transits the Taiwan Strait on June 3. Photo: *US Navy*

The US Navy asserted that this form of cooperation is "a central piece of our strategy to ensure a secure and prosperous region." The US believes that ships and aircraft of all countries have the right to move freely in all areas allowed by international law.

The last time the US and Canada coordinated the deployment of warships through the Taiwan Strait was in September 2022, a month after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

The voyage comes as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivers a speech at the 2023 Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore from June 2-4. Austin said that the US network of friendly nations in Asia will “resist coercion, particularly in the Taiwan Strait.” He affirmed that the US is committed to maintaining the status quo in Taiwan and opposes unilateral changes from either side.

Geng Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Central Military Commission's Joint Staff Department, said on the sidelines of the forum that "US comments on Taiwan ignore and distort the truth and are completely wrong."

"They frequently send ships and planes through the Taiwan Strait to show off their strength, enticing other countries to intervene in the Taiwan issue," the Chinese general added.

US-China tensions have not improved significantly since the US shot down a Chinese balloon that entered its airspace in February. The US military accused the balloon of being a spy device, while Beijing insisted it was a civilian research balloon that "strayed" into US airspace.

Over the past four months, the two countries have limited high-level contacts. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing was canceled and a new date has not been set. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu refused to meet bilaterally with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the 2023 Shangri-La Dialogue. On June 2, the two men only greeted and shook hands at the opening ceremony.

For more than half a year, China has been holding large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, an island that Beijing considers an inseparable part of its territory and that reunification is only a matter of time, even by military means. Last week, China's aircraft carrier Shandong and two escort ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait.