MALLORY SHELBOURNE MAY 8, 2024 1:43 PM
Destroyer USS Halsey (DDG-97) performed a Taiwan Strait transit on Wednesday, U.S. 7th Fleet announced.
“The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State.” U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement.
“Halsey‘s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle. No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms.”
China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command surveilled the transit, according to the Ministry of National Defense.
“The troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command will remain on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty as well as regional peace and stability,” said People’s Liberation Army Senior Capt. Li Xi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command.
China typically protesters U.S. ship transits and P-8A surveillance flights through the strait. Last month, the same PLA Eastern Theater Command criticized a P-8A flight over the strait.
Until 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday, 6 PLAN ships and 16 PLA aircraft were sailing and flying near Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
Halsey‘s transit is the third publicly announced Taiwan Strait transit in 2024. Destroyer USS John Finn (DDG-113), which is based in Yokosuka, Japan, performed transits through the 90-mile wide strait in January and March.
Halsey, based at Naval Base San Diego, is part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was operating in the South China Sea as of Monday, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.