Taiwanese authorities say the Australian warship travelled through the Taiwan Strait, a sensitive and narrow waterway that separates the democratically-ruled island from China, The Guardian reports.
The defence ministry said on Friday that the ship had entered the strait on Thursday and proceeded in a southerly direction. Taiwanese military personnel kept watch throughout, the ministry said, without giving details.
According to The Guardian, the ship in question is the HMAS Toowoomba, which was cruising in international waters during a regional deployment.
Australian Navy ships regularly pass through the Taiwan Strait using established international shipping lanes. Euan Graham, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that when the Australian navy had previously travelled through the Taiwan Strait, it “preferred not to publicise it”.
This week’s incident came at a time when Australia-China military relations have been strained, even as the two countries seek to rebuild diplomatic and trade ties.
Canberra complained last week about an incident involving a Chinese warship and the HMAS Toowoomba in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Australia said several of its military divers were injured in the incident. US warships pass through this strait about once a month. China regularly objects to this.
Taiwan has expressed concern over the past four years about China’s continued military activity around the island, especially in the strait. Taiwan, whose government rejects China’s sovereign claims, is preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on 13 January.
Graham said the Australian navy is passing through the Taiwan Strait because it is the shortest route between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. He claimed:
It is just exercising international passage rights through that strait. It is not a contentious area of international law – it’s just that China chooses to make an issue out of it.
Australia stated that it had respected the right of all States to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law.
