The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has confirmed that it deployed naval and air forces to monitor two US Navy vessels sailing through the Taiwan Strait between February 10 and 12.
According to PLA Eastern Theatre Command spokesperson Colonel Li Xi, the US mission—comprising a destroyer and an oceanographic survey ship—posed security risks and sent “the wrong message” regarding regional stability. Li made the remarks in a statement aired on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday.
“Troops in the theatre are on high alert at all times and are resolute in defending national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” Li said.
This marks the first known transit of US military vessels through the politically sensitive strait since President Donald Trump returned to office. Washington has not officially commented on the operation, but past missions have been framed as exercises in upholding freedom of navigation in international waters.
The Taiwan Strait remains a flashpoint in US-China relations, with Beijing considering Taiwan a breakaway province and opposing any foreign military presence in the area. Meanwhile, the US has continued to conduct routine transits through the strait, asserting its commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
This latest incident adds to the growing tensions between Beijing and Washington, particularly amid ongoing disputes over Taiwan, trade, and military activity in the South China Sea.
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