Regarding the transit of US destroyer USS Higgins and Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver through the Taiwan Strait on September 20, MOFA responds as follows:
September 21, 2022
On September 20, United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver sailed through the Taiwan Strait. It was the first time US and Canadian naval vessels conducted a joint transit through the Taiwan Strait since China recently escalated tensions in the area through military provocation in waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) welcomes and affirms the concrete step taken by the United States and Canada to maintain the Taiwan Strait’s legal status as international waters. The action also upheld freedom of navigation as well as peace and stability in the region.
The US Seventh Fleet and the Canadian government both issued statements on the operation. The United States pointed out that the vessels transited through a corridor that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state and that the cooperation demonstrates the commitment of the United States and its allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand also emphasized that the mission demonstrated Canada’s commitment to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
The United States and other like-minded countries have frequently expressed serious concerns over military action taken by China that damages regional peace and stability, attempts to undermine the cross-strait status quo, and aims to turn the Taiwan Strait into its internal waters. The September 20 transit through the Taiwan Strait clearly shows that democratic allies staunchly oppose China’s expansionist ambitions. Faced with China’s relentless coercion, the government of Taiwan will continue to enhance its self-defense capabilities and stand firm against authoritarian expansion and aggression. It will also deepen its close security partnership with the United States and bolster cooperation with like-minded nations to jointly safeguard the security of the Taiwan Strait, defend the rules-based international order, and preserve peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.