Spiegel magazine has reported that two German warships are set to sail through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years. Germany will join a growing number of Indo-Pacific and European nations that regularly sail through the Taiwan Strait to challenge Beijing’s claims that the Strait is ‘internal waters’ belonging to China.

The Chinese government rejects the notion that the Strait should be ‘used for international navigation’, as defined by article 37 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Beijing has determined that the Strait is too narrow to be defined as ‘high seas’ and has outlined that the waters of the Taiwan Strait, ‘from both shores towards the middle of the Strait, are China’s internal waters, then territorial sea, the contiguous zone and then exclusive economic zone’. Beijing incorrectly maintains that innocent passage by foreign militaries in the Taiwan Strait violates its sovereign rights.

Countries challenge Beijing’s unilateral determination by using military assets to undertake transits of the Taiwan Strait, simultaneously reinforcing UNCLOS and the need for unimpeded transit and a free and open Indo-Pacific region. However, not all countries choose to take the same approach. Some countries use transits to publicly challenge China and reinforce the need for international laws and norms, while others quietly pass through the Strait, making their presence known to Beijing, whose ships are always closely following behind.

Publicly available data indicates that the following countries are active in the Taiwan Strait:

TST = Taiwan Strait Transit

Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are notable absences from this list. Their militaries are active throughout the region, but their governments either chose to take a very quiet approach to any military activity in the Taiwan Strait or to avoid the Strait completely. New Zealand has challenged China’s claims elsewhere, including in the South China Sea, however there is no public reporting of their military passing through the Taiwan Strait.

Other countries, such as the United States, are very active in the Strait. Throughout 2023, US warships transited the Strait six times. US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft also conduct flyovers of the Strait. Such activities are publicised by US defence media, underscoring that the US will continue to uphold navigational rights and operate anywhere international law allows.

The US have also recently started to transit the Strait with Canada. A June 2023 joint transit angered Beijing, with a Chinese warship cutting across the bow of the US destroyer in a move categorised as unprofessional. Canada has increased its presence in the Strait with recent reports indicating that Canada now transits the Strait three times a year with this number likely to increase in the future. Canada has also followed the US and The Philippines in placing journalists onboard their military vessels, including those transiting the Strait, to increase awareness back home of the challenges their sailors face from an increasingly aggressive China.

Australia is the final country that likely conducts regular transits of the Strait. However, as the Australian government does not advertise transits, the tempo is difficult to determine. China challenged an Australian transit all the way back in 2001, while another transit was confirmed by Taipei as late as November 2023.

Both the UK and France appear open to transiting the Strait when naval vessels are in the region. The French confirmed that a Floréal-class surveillance frigate sailed through the Strait soon after President Macron’s 2023 visit to Beijing. In 2021, HMS Richmond confirmed via tweet its intent to sail through the Strait while deployed to the region with Britain’s carrier strike group.

Germany will follow the Netherlands, and surprisingly Turkey, as nations that are using 2024 naval deployments to the Indo-Pacific to challenge China’s illegal claims. Sadly, there has yet to be any indication that Italy transited the Strait during the recent deployment of its carrier strike group to the region.

China has a common playbook to respond to these transits. Vessels from China’s navy, and sometimes coastguard, closely follow any foreign military vessel through the Strait, and as demonstrated in 2023, they are willing to push boundaries to intimidate others. This military action is paired with stern diplomatic representations in both Beijing and foreign capitals.

As we have seen with Germany’s upcoming transit, when plans are made public, China will go on the offensive. China has warned Germany against provocation and actions that will ‘harm China’s sovereignty and security’. But Germany’s actions are to be commended. Advertising the transit reinforces value of countries taking actions that push back against China’s unilateral determinations, while upholding the importance of freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.