Noos News•
Dutch naval ship Zr. Ms. Trump sailed through the Taiwan Strait this week. A Royal Navy spokesperson confirmed this to NOS when asked. Navigating this strait is sensitive, because it is claimed by China.
Navigating this route represents a striking change in Dutch policy: in 2021, the Dutch navy ship Evertsen was still avoiding the Taiwan Strait. It was said that the Netherlands should not provoke China unnecessarily.
“The sailing period in the South China Sea went well,” says a Royal Navy spokesman. The naval frigate is currently touring various ports of the Asian allies.
From the Vietnamese coastal city of Hai Phong, the Tromp is now heading to South Korea, where it will one day dock. It will then make another stop in Japan, before participating in a large-scale military exercise in Hawaii.
He declared that the claim to the South China Sea was baseless
Under international law, China has no right to the Strait. The Taiwan Strait is a strait between 130 and 180 kilometers wide. Even if you consider Taiwan part of China, the strait is wide enough to be considered international waters under international law.
The International Court of Arbitration in 2016 declared that Beijing’s claim that a large part of the South China Sea belongs to China was baseless.
US warships regularly pass this strait, emphasizing that it is in international waters. “We are committed in principle to the right of free passage of all nations,” the Pentagon said when the USS John Finn chose that route earlier this year.
Major geopolitical tensions in the region
De Tromp is making the trip at a time when the region is experiencing great geopolitical tension. Last week, the Chinese army conducted large-scale military exercises near Taiwan.
According to Beijing, these were “punitive exercises”: New Taiwanese President Lai said in his inauguration speech earlier that week that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait “are not subject to each other.” China viewed this as a statement that Taiwan and China are two separate countries.
China has not yet responded to this clip. Other countries that have recently strengthened their ties with Taiwan have faced diplomatic repercussions. When Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a representative office on the island in 2021, China responded by imposing a trade embargo.
The Taiwan Strait connects the world’s largest economies. Nearly a third of global trade and about 40 percent of European trade passes through the South China Sea.