TAIPEI (Reuters) – A French naval ship passed through the Taiwan Strait, the island’s defence ministry said on Tuesday, in the latest mission through the strategic waterway by a Western country.
The U.S. navy, occasionally accompanied by ships from allied countries, transits the strait around once a month. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and which staged war games around the island earlier this month, also says the strait belongs to it.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said the unidentified French vessel entered the strait on Monday night and sailed in a northerly direction.
Taiwan’s military monitored the vessel, the ministry added, noting the situation was “as normal”. It did not elaborate.
There was no immediate response from the French government.
The French navy has previously transited the strait, including last year. Two Germany navy ships sailed through the strait in September.
China described its recent war games as a warning to “separatist acts”. The exercises drew condemnation from the Taiwanese and U.S. governments.
China says it alone has jurisdiction over the nearly 180 km (110 miles) wide waterway that is a major passageway for international trade.
The United States and Taiwan, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, say the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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