Two New Zealand navy ships transit Taiwan Strait

Two New Zealand naval ships transited the Taiwan Strait on Friday last week, the New Zealand Defence Force said yesterday.

Like most countries, New Zealand has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but Taipei sees it as an important like-minded democratic partner and both maintain de facto embassies in the other’s capitals.

The transits by naval frigate HMNZS Te Mana and oiler HMNZS Aotearoa were part of a three-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region, a New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson said.

HMNZS Te Mana, left, and HMNZS Aotearoa are pictured in Pearl Harbor in June.

Photo: Screen grab from Royal New Zealand Navy’s Facebook page

“New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the region demonstrate our continued interest and commitment to the region,” the spokesperson added in a statement.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called it “a routine activity” and said he was not expecting any backlash from China, the country’s top trading partner.

“It’s conducted in a safe and professional way. It’s conducted under international law, it’s in international waters,” Luxon told reporters in Wellington.

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

New Zealand is one of just two major countries, along with Singapore, to have a free trade pact with Taiwan.

Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said that as the Taiwan Strait was an international waterway, all countries enjoyed freedom of navigation.

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that it “will not proactively disclose the activities of friendly allied nations’ aircraft and vessels.”

The Aotearoa was tracked and followed by Chinese forces when it last transited the Strait in November last year, one source with knowledge of the situation said.

During that transit, Chinese ships and aircraft monitored the Aotearoa, with Chinese jets carrying out simulated attacks, the source added.

US warships sail through the Strait every few months, prompting criticism from Beijing, and some US allies, such as Canada and Britain, also make occasional transits.