HEADLINE-ASIA GEOPOLITICS | TAIWAN- Australian warship passes through Taiwan Strait

A man walks with a flag as a ship passes by behind him on Pingtan island, the closest point to Taiwan, in China’s southeast Fujian province on April 8, 2023. China launched military drills around Taiwan on April 8, in what it called a “stern warning“ to the self-ruled island’s government following a meeting between its president and the US House speaker. (AFP/Greg Baker)

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Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said Friday that an Australian warship had the day before sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a sensitive waterway separating the self-ruled island from China.

The ship entered the strait on Thursday and sailed in a southerly direction, the ministry said.

“During the passage through the strait, Taiwan’s military monitored the situation of the sea and air space, and the situation was normal,” it said.

The 180-kilometre (110-mile) strait is a major shipping route, but also serves as a tense geopolitical tussling ground for Beijing — which claims democratic Taiwan as its territory.

Taiwan’s military reports near-daily sightings of vessels around its waters, as well as incursions made by Chinese warplanes in its air defence zone.

The United States sends in its warships through the Taiwan Strait for “routine” transits, and British, Canadian, French and Australian warships have all made passages in recent years — sparking protests from Beijing.

Thursday’s strait passage comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing earlier this month, which he had hailed as “unquestionably very positive”.

 

But last week, Australia’s defence minister said that navy divers from the HMAS Toowoomba were “likely” injured by sonar pulses emitted by a Chinese warship in waters off Japan.

Albanese said the Chinese warship had displayed “dangerous… and unprofessional” conduct at sea, which Beijing has dismissed as a “reckless” accusation.

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AFP Taipei,
Taiwan
●   Fri, November 24, 2023