The incident highlighted each side’s position and willingness to back it up with force. The Chinese destroyer changed course and signalled to the US warship that it should move or there would be a collision. A US statement described the Chinese warship’s manoeuvre as illegal, unprofessional and unsafe.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the close encounter is “part and parcel of an increasing level of aggressiveness” by China’s military. In response, Defence Minister Li Shangfu said that “we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation, that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation”.
The dispute also raises the issue of the status of Taiwan. If Taiwan is part of China, then the entire strait is under Beijing’s jurisdiction. The US “one China” policy recognises the mainland government as the sole legal government of China, but it only acknowledges, rather than endorses, the mainland’s position that Taiwan is part of China.
If the act of US ships passing through the strait is meant to imply that Taiwan has separate jurisdiction and regimes governing its claimed portion of the strait, this challenges Beijing’s sovereignty claim to Taiwan.
US warships and warplanes would have the theoretical right to pass through the Taiwan Strait even after Taiwan reunification, provided they paid due regard to China’s rights. Otherwise, they could be seen to be abusing a right for purposes other than that for which it is intended.
But just because the US theoretically can, does not mean it should. This is a political question, not a legal one. The US knows these probes and passages anger China. It should expect an angry response, especially given China’s view that the US is not paying due regard to its rights.
The US has repeatedly demonstrated the right for its warships to pass through the Taiwan Strait. This amply protects its legal right to do so. It needs to consider when enough is enough, though, and whether it wants to risk a dangerous clash to keep demonstrating this right.
Mark J. Valencia is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Huayang Institute for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance
South China Morning Post
