Taking the Taiwan Strait as the stage, China issued a statement warning of the presence of U.S. and U.K. naval vessels, labeling the passage of a destroyer and a Type 23 frigate as a provocative gesture. The condemnation from the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) referred to the navigation of U.S. Navy and Royal Navy assets in the Strait in the days following the new voyage of the aircraft carrier Fujian (CV-18), the most modern and advanced of the Asian giant, in those waters.
According to satellite imagery and reports from Taiwanese authorities, on September 12 the PLA Navy’s CV-18 aircraft carrier transited the Taiwan Strait toward the South China Sea as part of a new sailing, which appeared to be among the final preparations ahead of its entry into service. The event was officially confirmed by China, describing the voyage as part of “a mission of research, testing, and scientific training,” which the navy carries out routinely.
The carrier’s new deployment, accompanied by a group of destroyer escorts, coincided almost simultaneously and spatially with the navigation of U.S. and U.K. naval vessels. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) sources noted on September 12 the presence of the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke–class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), as well as the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, in the Taiwan Strait.
That same day, China issued a new statement denouncing and protesting the presence of Western warships in the Taiwan Strait, declaring: “The actions of the United States and the United Kingdom send the wrong signals and undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the PLA said in a statement, adding to similar protests lodged against a transit by a Royal Canadian Navy frigate.
For its part, the U.K. Ministry of Defence stated that the navigation was conducted routinely in accordance with international law, noting: “Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law and norms, exercising freedom of navigation rights in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.” Meanwhile, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command described the mission as a routine transit: “The ships transited through a corridor of the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state. The rights and freedoms of navigation in the Taiwan Strait must not be restricted.”
According to these statements, the presence of U.S. and U.K. warships in the area was part of a series of military activities with allied countries. For example, in the days prior to the Strait transit, USS Higgins conducted drills in the Philippine Sea with the Hyūga-class helicopter carrier JS Ise (DDH 182) and the Takanami-class destroyer JS Suzunami (DD 114) of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). For its part, HMS Richmond, one of the escorts of HMS Prince of Wales during its regional deployment, carried out replenishment-at-sea maneuvers with the Japanese helicopter carrier JS Kaga before transiting the Taiwan Strait.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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