Show your muscles, a paying strategy? Two US Navy warships sailed this Sunday in international waters of the Taiwan Strait, the first operation of this type since the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, Nancy Pelosi.
The US Navy said the Japan-based guided-missile cruisers USS Chancellorsville and USS Antietam were on a “routine mission” and “passed through a corridor in the strait beyond of the territorial sea of any coastal State”. Obviously their passage was made under the close surveillance of the Chinese army, while Beijing claims Taiwan against the advice of its democratically elected government.
In a statement, the US Navy said the passage “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region”. Taiwan’s defense ministry said the ships were sailing south and its forces were watching, but “the situation was normal.”
Chinese military exercises near Taiwan
130 to 180 km wide, the strait that separates Taiwan from China is an essential highway for the navigation of world trade: one out of two container ships has already passed through it in 2022.
Nancy Pelosi’s trip in early August, followed by that of five other lawmakers a week later, infuriated China, which saw it as an attempt by the United States to interfere in its internal affairs. In response, China launched military exercises on an unprecedented scale near the island, including “long-range live ammunition firing” in the strait. The exercises have continued since.
On Thursday, Senator Marsha Blackburn, a member of the Commerce and Armed Services Committees, arrived in Taiwan, a new visit that defies Beijing, especially as she has multiplied messages of support for a “free and independent” island. .
Washington has sought to prevent tensions with Beijing from escalating into conflict, repeating that congressional travel is routine. The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is required by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Since being elected, Joe Biden has repeatedly asserted that the US military will do its job if China uses force to bring Taiwan under its control.