WELLINGTON: Two New Zealand naval ships that transited the Taiwan Strait late last week were undertaking "routine activity” in international waters, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said.
The ships were sailing en route to participate in a joint exercise in the Philippines, Luxon told reporters Monday (Sept 20) in Wellington, when asked about the event. He said the navy did something similar in November last year.
"It was conducted in a safe and professional way,” he said. "It was conducted under international law. It was in international waters.”
A navy task group comprising the frigate Te Mana and oil supply ship Aotearoa had been on a deployment in the Indo-Pacific region, the New Zealand Defence Force said. This included operations in the Yellow and East China Seas to bolster enforcement of United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea.
The navy "has a long history of deployments in the region which includes passage along regular routes as ships sail between regional engagements,” an NZDF spokesperson said. "As part of its passage, the Task Group completed a transit of the Taiwan Strait.”
The transit occurred Sept 18. All activities were conducted in accordance with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the NZDF said.
The Taiwan Strait handles almost half the world’s container fleet. - Bloomberg
