Tense calm in the Taiwan Strait

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG-85) armed with Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, transited the Taiwan Strait earlier this week, eliciting a terse response from Chinese military officials.

The guided-missile destroyer conducted what was described as “a routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Wednesday 8th in accordance with international law, Lt. Anthony Junco, a spokesperson for U.S. 7th Fleet, told in an email: “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Junco said. “The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.”

McCampbell’s transit through the narrow body of water separating Taiwan from mainland China is the third such transit this year by a U.S. Navy vessel: Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) transited the strait in February and USS Shiloh (CG-67) performed a similar trip in January. On Thursday, following McCampbell’s transit, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense’s spokesman, issued a statement calling the transit “was very dangerous and said it sent the wrong message to Taiwan secessionists.”

Ren added McCampbell’s transit was part of a years-long effort by the U.S. to spy on China’s marine and air space and near People’s Liberation Army ships and aircraft: “The provocative actions by the U.S. has damaged China’s security interests and has endangered the lives of front-line soldiers and their equipment. They constitute a serious violation of international laws on freedom of navigation and are the root cause of problems between China and the U.S. on maritime security,” Ren’s statement said. “We will absolutely not allow any foreign forces to play the Taiwan card, and will not tolerate any attempts of secession. The PLA has the will, confidence and capability to thwart all secession efforts and safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”