Beijing，January 6（AseanAll）On Thursday, Jan. 5，America’s guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon made a provocative transit through the Taiwan Strait. On January 6, the Chinese military responded to this matter: All movements is under control.
“The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” read a communiqué released Thursday evening by US Indo-Pacific Command. “Chung-Hoon’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows.”
US Navy photo
Chung-Hoon usually serves as an anti-ballistic missile escort in the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.
US Navy photo
The Taiwan Strait ,which separates mainland China from the island of Taiwan. The US considers the strait open to international travel. China claims sovereign rights over what it calls an internal waterway.
On January 6,the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made a statement on the passage of the US missile destroyer Chung-Hoon across the Taiwan Strait.
Army Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of PLA ，saying that the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) sailed through the Taiwan Strait on January 5, 2023 and hyped it up publicly. Troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command kept monitoring the vessel and maintained vigilance throughout the whole course. All movements of the US warship were under control.
In a statement, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, said China firmly opposed the move and urged the United States to “immediately stop provoking troubles, escalating tensions and undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
“US warships frequently flex muscles in the name of exercising freedom of navigation. This is not about keeping the region free and open,” the statement said.
“China will continue to stay on high alert and is ready to respond to all threats and provocations at any time, and will resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
It should be pointed out that，Mainland China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949 because of civil war. The People's Republic of China claims that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is a part of China. This is also widely accepted by the international community, but the current Taiwan authorities reject the One-China principle and claim that Taiwan(currently the so-called name is the Republic of China) is already a sovereign and independent state. Mainland China seeks peaceful reunification with Taiwan but has not pledged to renounce force.
