China Condemns U.S. Warships Passing Through Taiwan Strait South China Sea News

Beijing criticized the move as provocative, saying it shows that the United States is the biggest threat to peace and stability.

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense protested the passage of US Navy warships and Coast Guard speedboats through the waters between China and Taiwan, which is an autonomous island claimed by Beijing.

A statement posted on the ministry’s website on Saturday said the move was provocative and indicated that the United States is the biggest threat and security risk to the peace and stability of the 160-kilometer (100-mile) Taiwan Strait.

“We express our firm opposition and strong condemnation,” it said.

The US Navy said the USS Kidd guided-missile destroyer and the Coast Guard speedboat Monroe sailed through the strait in international waters on Friday. Such exercises are seen as a warning to China, which recently conducted exercises near Taiwan and has not given up the use of force to control the island when necessary.

A statement from the Seventh Fleet of the Japanese Navy said: “The legal passage of these ships through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

‘Keep the channels open’

The day before Saturday’s statement, Reuters quoted a senior Pentagon official as saying that this was the first meeting between Chinese and US military officials since US President Joe Biden took office in January.

“[They] Use the U.S.-China defense phone link to conduct secure video conferences,” said the U.S. official, who asked not to be named.

“The two sides agreed on the importance of maintaining open communication channels between the two militaries.”

Officials said that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has not yet spoken with his Chinese counterparts, partly because of disputes over which Chinese official is Austin’s counterpart.

Taiwan, with a population of 23.6 million, split from China during the Civil War, leading to the Communist Party’s control of the mainland in 1949. The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it has a representative office in the capital Taipei and is its largest supplier of defense and military equipment.

The Ministry of Defense statement on Saturday stated that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China” and Beijing will not tolerate any interference in its so-called internal affairs.