U.S. warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time since Trump inauguration
Two U.S. Navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait this week — the first transit of the waterway under U.S. President Donald Trump's new administration — prompting an angry rebuke from China.
The U.S. Navy said the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and survey ship USNS Bowditch had carried out a 'routine north-to-south Taiwan Strait transit' from Monday to Wednesday.
'Ships transit between the East China Sea and the South China Sea via the Taiwan Strait and have done so for many years,' U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesman Cmdr. Matthew Comer told The Japan Times. 'The transit occurred through a corridor in the Taiwan Strait that is beyond any coastal state's territorial seas. Within this corridor all nations enjoy high-seas freedom of navigation, overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms.'
China and Taiwan also confirmed the transit, with Beijing deploying naval and air forces 'to monitor the entire passage of the U.S. vessels.'
'The actions of the U.S. sent the wrong signals and increased security risks,' Senior Capt. Li Xi, spokesperson for the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement Wednesday.
Beijing views Taiwan — the democratic island that it says is a renegade province that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary — as the 'core of its core interests.'
Much to China's chagrin, the U.S. Navy routinely sends ships through the Taiwan Strait, sometimes with other navies. Last September, Japan sent a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer through the strategic waterway for the first time ever following a series of unprecedented Chinese military moves inside Japanese airspace and waters.
Beijing says the Taiwan Strait belongs to it — a position that Taipei and Washington dispute, having said the waterway is international waters.
Asked about the transit, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office reiterated that Taiwan is a 'core interest' of China.
'We firmly oppose and will never allow any external interference,' spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said. 'We have the firm will, full confidence and sufficient ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.'
The last publicly reported U.S. Navy mission in the strait came in late November, when a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew over the waterway, while the last time a U.S. warship was confirmed to have sailed through the waterway was in October, part of a joint mission with Canada's navy.
The latest transit may signal continuity of such sailings under Trump, who noted 'the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait' during his summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba last week.
The actions could soften claims by Trump on the campaign trail for the U.S. presidency last year that Taiwan should pay the U.S. more for 'protection' and that it had 'stolen' America's semiconductor business.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan and is bound by law to supply the island with weapons to help it defend itself.
While the U.S. has largely over the years maintained a policy of 'strategic ambiguity' as to whether or not it would come to Taiwan's defense in the event of any attack or invasion by China, former U.S. President Joe Biden — Trump's predecessor — repeatedly said that the United States would militarily defend the island.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Japan PM aims for nominal GDP to reach 1,000 tril. yen in 2040
KYODO NEWS - 8 hours ago - 22:02 | All, Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday that Japan should aim to boost its economy to 1,000 trillion yen ($7 trillion) in nominal terms in 2040, instructing his ruling party executives to include it in a pledge for this summer's nationwide election. The size compares with a nominal gross domestic product of around 600 trillion yen in 2024, which met a target set about a decade ago. Japan, however, had lost its status as the world's third-largest economy to Germany the previous year. Ishiba said that while giving priority to ensuring that wage growth consistently outpaces inflation, his Liberal Democratic Party will seek to achieve an over 50 percent increase in average income in the same time frame. The goals were set as the country's major political parties are looking at ways to woo voters with their campaign pledges for the House of Councillors, or upper house, election, with opposition parties calling for reducing the consumption tax to ease the pain of inflation on households. "I wanted to share with Japanese people what specifically a strong economy will look like," Ishiba told reporters. "I've instructed party executives to target nominal GDP of 1,000 trillion yen in 2040 and over 50 percent growth in average income at the top of our election promises" for the upper house contest, he added. Nominal GDP shows the size of an economy in current prices. Japan's economy expanded in 2024 when the country was reeling from the yen's persistent weakness and the resulting cost-push inflation. In the run-up to this summer's upper house election, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the biggest opposition force, is seeking to temporarily remove the consumption tax on food, currently at 8 percent, and offer cash handouts. Party leader Yoshihiko Noda said Monday that combatting inflation is a major theme for the upper house race, which will replace half of the 248-member chamber. Ishiba, however, has taken a cautious stance on lowering the consumption tax rate on food as an inflation-relief measure. The LDP's election chief Seiji Kihara said the party will consider "effective" cash handouts with the use of surplus tax revenue when it formalizes its election platform. Related coverage: Japan's top negotiator eyes U.S. trip this week for 6th tariff talks Many see continued cuts in bond buying as appropriate: BOJ chief Ueda Japan PM says mutual understanding "deepened" with Trump over tariffs
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
U.S. State Department resumes processing Harvard student visas after judge's ruling
A student walks on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo By Humeyra Pamuk The U.S. State Department directed all U.S. missions abroad and consular sections to resume processing Harvard University student and exchange visitor visas after a federal judge in Boston last week temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's ban on foreign students at the Ivy-League institution. In a diplomatic cable sent on June 6 and signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department cited parts of the judge's decision, saying the fresh directive was "in accordance with" the temporary restraining order. Under that order granted to Harvard late on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked Trump's proclamation from taking effect pending further litigation of the matter. Trump had cited national security concerns as justification for barring international students from entering the United States to pursue studies at Harvard. The Trump administration has launched a multi-pronged attack on the nation's oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding and proposing to end its tax-exempt status, prompting a series of legal challenges. Harvard argues the administration is retaliating against it for refusing to accede to demands to control the school's governance, curriculum and the ideology of its faculty and students. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the cable, the State Department added that all other guidance regarding student visas remained in effect, including enhanced social media vetting and the requirement to review the applicants' online presence. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Japan Today
Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a 'mobile security crisis'
FILE - A child holds an iPhone at an Apple store on Sept. 25, 2015 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) By DAVID KLEPPER Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash — it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism. The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user. The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past. Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in U.S. cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts. It shows how vulnerable mobile devices and apps are and the risk that security failures could expose sensitive information or leave American interests open to cyberattack, those experts say. 'The world is in a mobile security crisis right now,' said Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity expert at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify. 'No one is watching the phones.' U.S. authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. 'They were able to listen in on phone calls in real time and able to read text messages,' said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the U.S. of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. 'The U.S. has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets,' Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. U.S. intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to U.S. economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. Mobile networks are a top concern. The U.S. and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the U.S. — a growing concern to lawmakers. 'The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,' U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their U.S. operations. Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles' connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a 'cyber trust mark' for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. 'They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls,' said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University. 'They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms,' Williams said. "We just can't share things willy-nilly.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
