First US Navy ships sail through Taiwan Strait since Trump inauguration

Two U.S. Navy vessels navigated the strategically significant Taiwan Strait this week, marking the first operation of this kind since President Donald Trump assumed office last month. This move provoked a strong response from China, which asserted that the mission heightened security risks in the region.

The U.S. Navy typically conducts transits through the strait approximately once a month, often accompanied by ships from allied nations. China, which asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, maintains that the vital waterway is under its jurisdiction.

The U.S. Navy identified the ships involved as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey vessel USNS Bowditch. The transit took place from February 10 to 12, according to the Navy.

“The transit was conducted through a corridor in the Taiwan Strait that lies outside the territorial seas of any coastal state,” stated Navy Commander Matthew Comer, a spokesperson for the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command. “In this corridor, all nations are entitled to high-seas freedoms of navigation, overflight, and other lawful maritime activities.”

In response, China’s military announced that its forces had been deployed to monitor the situation. “The U.S. action sends inappropriate signals and escalates security risks,” the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army remarked in a statement released early Wednesday.

Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed that its military was also observing the situation but indicated that “the situation remains normal.” The last publicly recognized U.S. Navy operation in the strait occurred in late November, when a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft conducted a flight over the area.

The most recent confirmation of a U.S. Navy vessel transiting the strait occurred in October during a collaborative operation with a Canadian warship. China’s military conducts daily activities in the strait, which Taiwan’s government perceives as a component of Beijing’s ongoing pressure strategy. On Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry reported the detection of 30 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels in proximity to the island.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has dismissed Beijing’s assertions of sovereignty, emphasizing that the future of Taiwan should be determined solely by its people.