Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
China The United States on Thursday accused the U.S. military of “abusing international law” and continuing a pattern of “dangerous provocations” in East Asia, after a U.S. Navy destroyer passed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in 2024.
Wednesday’s movement of the aircraft carrier John Finn through the waterway separating democratically-ruled Taiwan from communist mainland China was the first time a U.S. warship has passed through the strait since elections on the island two weeks ago.
The vote gave Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party a historic third consecutive presidential victory, and voters on the island ignored Beijing’s warnings that its re-election would increase the risk of conflict.
Although China’s ruling Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, it considers it part of its territory, and leader Xi Jinping is using military force to “unify” Taiwan and the mainland. does not exclude the possibility of exercising
On the other hand, the United States is obligated to provide military means for self-defense to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, but the Chinese government views this as interference in its internal affairs.
Commander, U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Press Secretary. Megan Green said in a statement Wednesday that the aircraft carrier John Finn’s passage through the strait took place “in accordance with international law.”
“The ship passed through a strait corridor beyond the territorial waters of the coastal state. John Finn’s passage through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to uphold freedom of navigation for all nations in principle,” Green said. said.
The John Finn’s first passage through the Taiwan Strait was in 2024, but U.S. warships and fighter jets regularly ply the waterway. In 2023, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships and naval reconnaissance planes passed through the strait 11 times, according to a database maintained by Colin Koh, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Defense said the United States was calling out military activities in the region, calling for “changes in behavior to avoid maritime and air disasters,” according to the English-language website of state-run Xinhua news agency. ” he said.
Xinhua News Agency said, “The root cause of China-US maritime and air security issues is the US military’s harassment and provocations in close proximity to China, and its long-term, large-scale, and high-frequency activities in the sea and airspace around China. “It’s in what we’re doing.” This was reported by Ministry of Defense spokesperson Wu Qian.
“He called on the US side to stop abusing international law, stop all dangerous provocations, and strictly discipline local forces,” the article said.
Earlier this month, Gen. John Aquilino, the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, accused Beijing of escalating tensions.
Aquilino told the defense forum Speaking in Hawaii, he said he expected China to use force against Taiwan following the election results.
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“When something happens that they don’t like, they tend to take action,” Aquilino said about operationalizing integration at the Pacific Forum’s Indo-Pacific meeting in Honolulu.
Ko, the Singaporean analyst, said Beijing may be a little “frustrated” with Washington at the moment, especially after agreeing to resume military-to-military talks in December.
“Given that it is very likely that the Chinese government believes it has extended an olive branch by agreeing to resume military-to-military communications and other high-level exchanges, it recognizes the lack of reciprocity from the United States.” It’s possible that he did,” Ko said.