{"id":54254,"date":"2018-10-22T18:17:13","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T18:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/22\/two-navy-warships-transit-taiwan-strait\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:20:46","slug":"two-navy-warships-transit-taiwan-strait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/10\/22\/two-navy-warships-transit-taiwan-strait\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Navy warships transit Taiwan Strait"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. sailed two guided-missile warships through the Strait of Taiwan<\/a> Monday, in what Taipei\u2019s ministry of defense described as a routine passage through international waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials in Beijing have yet to comment on passage of the American destroyer and cruiser, but in the past the Chinese government has taken a hard line against Navy vessels transiting the waterway separating mainland China from Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to conquer it by force, if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUSS Curtis Wilbur [DDG 54] and USS Antietam [CG 54] conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Oct 22, in accordance with international law. The ship transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,\u201d said U.S. Pacific Fleet <\/a>spokesman Cmdr. Nate Christensen in an email to Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, the Ticonderoga-class Antietam visited South Korea\u2019s Jeju Island last week, following its maneuvers with Royal Thai Navy vessels in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Rob Manning said it \u201cwas certainly not the department\u2019s intent to raise tensions\u201d on Monday, adding that were was \u201ccoordination and contact with the appropriate nations\u201d for the transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He would not specify which nations were contacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sailors aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Antietam receive a fuel line during a replenishment-at-sea with the oilerTippecanoe on Oct. 10 in the East China Sea. 1 (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William McCann\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although lawful, the transit of American warships through the strait remains a significant statement in support of freedom of navigation for all nations, not only near Taiwan but in other contested areas of the western Pacific such as the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From July 7\u20138, the Japan-based destroyers Mustin and Benfold transited the Taiwan Strait<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the latest transit of the strait comes amid rising tensions between Taipei and Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taiwan officials wasted no time in publicly posting the announcement<\/a> that the American warships was sailing near the southern tip of the island, which broke apart from the mainland following the 1949 civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy research vessel Thomas G. Thompson arrived last Monday in the southern Taiwan port of Kaohsiung to refuel and swap out crew members, a visit China considered provocative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Beijing\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that China had expressed “our solemn concerns to the U.S. side\u201d over the visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\t