Dutch navy ship chose a sensitive route through the Taiwan Strait

The Dutch navy ship Zr. Ms. Tromp sailed through the Taiwan Strait this week. A spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Navy confirmed this to NOS when asked. Sailing through this strait is a sensitive issue, because China claims it.

Sailing through this route means a striking change in Dutch policy: in 2021, the Taiwan Strait was still avoided by the Dutch navy ship Evertsen. The Netherlands should not unnecessarily provoke China, it was argued.

“The sailing period in the South China Sea went well,” says a spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The navy frigate is currently on a trip along various ports of Asian allies.

From the Vietnamese port city of Hai Phong, the Tromp is now en route to South Korea, where it will dock in the coming days. It will then make a stop in Japan, before taking part in a large-scale military exercise in Hawaii.

South China Sea Claim Declared Unfounded

Under international law, China has no claim to the Strait. The Taiwan Strait is a strait that is 130 to 180 km wide. Even if you consider Taiwan to be part of China, the strait is wide enough to be considered international waters under international law.

Beijing’s claim that much of the South China Sea belongs to China was declared unfounded by the International Court of Arbitration in 2016.

American warships regularly cross the strait, underlining that it is international waters. “We are committed to the right of free passage for all nations as a matter of principle,” the Pentagon said, for example, when the USS John Finn chose this route earlier this year.

High geopolitical tensions in the region

The Tromp is making the trip at a time of high geopolitical tension in the region. Last week, the Chinese army conducted large-scale military exercises near Taiwan.

According to Beijing, these were “punitive exercises”: the new Taiwanese President Lai said earlier that week in his inauguration speech that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are “not subordinate to each other.” China interpreted this as a statement that Taiwan and China are separate countries.

China has not yet responded to the passage. Other countries that recently strengthened ties with Taiwan have faced diplomatic consequences. When Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open an office to represent the island in 2021, China responded with a trade embargo.

The Taiwan Strait connects the world’s largest economies. Nearly a third of global trade and around 40 percent of European trade passes through the South China Sea.