China Outraged as U.S. Warship sails through Taiwan Strait

The U.S.S. Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on October 14.

The Chinese army condemned a U.S. warship after it sailed through the strait dividing Taiwan  from mainland China on October 14, heightening tensions in the decades-long dispute between the two countries. 

The controversy began when the guided missile destroyer USS Barry performed what Reann Mommsen, spokeswoman for the Seventh Fleet of the United States Navy, called a “routine Taiwan Strait transit on October 14 in accordance with international law.”

“The U.S. has frequently sent wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces and seriously undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” said Zhang Chunhui, spokesman for China’s eastern theater command, a division within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Zhang urged the United States to stop “provocations and meddling” over Taiwan and vowed to defend China’s territorial integrity and maintain peace and stability in the Strait. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) asserts maritime ownership over the strait along with substantial territory in the South China Sea, demarcated by the infamous nine-dash line. The United States, on the other hand, sees the strait as part of international waters open to passage for all. 

Ever since 1949, when the ruling Nationalist Party fled to Taiwan, China has considered the entirety of Taiwan an integral part of its territory and currently considers it a rogue province. Although the U.S. officially ended diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 to improve relations with the PRC, Washington maintains unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan, serving as its strongest ally and largest arms supplier. 

Tensions over Taiwan have increased recently as President Donald Trump continues his hardline anti-China stance, showing strong support for recently-elected Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen. Tsai has garnered international recognition for standing up to China, making it onto Time’s 100 most influential people list this year. The White House recently announced plans to move ahead with the sale of advanced weapons systems to the island, sending a message of aggression to the PRC and one of solidarity to Taiwan. 

However, spats like those with the USS Barry happen with some regular frequency. The U.S. regularly conducts so-called “freedom of navigation” operations in the Strait of Taiwan, often provoking anger from China. This development likely will not lead to any escalatory action by either side, with this trading of words only serving as a small flashpoint in the much larger saga comprising both cross-strait relations and Sino-American discord.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Mommsen concluded.