New Zealand navy sailed Taiwan Strait for first time in years

This handout photo taken and released on January 21, 2022 by the New Zealand Defence Public Affairs office shows the HMNZS Aotearoa | FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

WELLINGTON — New Zealand’s navy said on Thursday that it had sailed a military vessel through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in seven years, a rare challenge to China’s claim on the fiercely contested waterway.

A defense official told AFP that the HMNZS Aotearoa a relief ship sailed through the strait on Wednesday with an Australian guided missile destroyer, the HMAS Sydney.

“This was a routine activity, consistent with international law, including the right of freedom of navigation,” a defense spokesperson said.

READ: Japan warship asserts right to sail through Taiwan Strait – media

The United States and allied militaries regularly sail through the Taiwan Strait to assert their freedom of navigation.

Beijing views self-governing Taiwan as a renegade province and claims jurisdiction over the body of water that separates the island from China.

New Zealand — which has deep trade ties with China — has carried out military operations in the South China Sea but generally shies away from exercises in the Taiwan Strait.

READ: Taiwan says 29 more Chinese aircraft detected after one-day surge

The last time a New Zealand navy vessel passed through the strait was while sailing to the Chinese port of Qingdao in 2017, the defense official said.

Wednesday’s mission was not conducted with Japan, which reportedly also sailed a warship through the strait for the first time.

“It was not done with a Japanese ship,” the defense official said.

Since coming to office last year, New Zealand’s centre-right government has pivoted hard toward “traditional allies” like the United States, Britain and Australia, and become much more vocal in its criticism of Beijing.

On Wednesday New Zealand issued an unusually strong condemnation of China’s decision to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile that terminated in the South Pacific.

Wellington said that test, the first of its kind in decades, was “unwelcome and concerning”.

In March, Wellington said a Chinese “state-sponsored group” was behind a 2021 malicious cyber attack that infiltrated sensitive government computer systems.

New Zealand is currently carrying out plans to shake up its defense forces and “reset” its foreign policy.

New Zealand is also mulling participation in AUKUS efforts to develop advanced military technology such as artificial intelligence, undersea drones, and hypersonic missiles.

AUKUS currently groups Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

High-profile New Zealanders such as former prime minister Helen Clark have warned against irking China and an increasing dependence on the United States.