Exclusive-New Zealand navy ship made rare transit through Taiwan Strait this month

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By Lucy Craymer, Greg Torode and Yimou Lee

WELLINGTON/HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) -The New Zealand navy’s largest ship, the oiler HMNZS Aotearoa, made a rare transit through the sensitive Taiwan Strait earlier this month, Defence Minister Judith Collins told Reuters.

One source with knowledge of the situation said the ship was tracked and followed by Chinese forces as it sailed through the strait.

Collins did not comment on any Chinese activity but said the transit was conducted in accordance with international law. “This includes exercising the right to freedom of navigation, as guaranteed under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea,” she said in an e-mail.

The ship sailed from the South China Sea to the North Asian region via the Taiwan Strait on November 5, the minister added.

The mission has not been previously reported.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own, says it alone exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait. Both the U.S. and Taiwan say the strait – a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass – is an international waterway.

The last publicised strait transit by New Zealand’s navy, accompanied by an Australian navy ship, took place in September last year. That was the first time a New Zealand naval ship had passed through the strait since 2017.

The source said that during the sailing, Chinese ships and aircraft monitored the Aotearoa, with Chinese jets carrying out simulated attacks.

The Chinese defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement that its armed forces “maintain comprehensive awareness of all military activities across the region and respond appropriately, ensuring national defence security”. It did not elaborate.

The transit coincided with Taiwan reporting that China had, on November 6, carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” around the island involving J-16 fighter jets, with the activity concentrated in the strait and to Taiwan’s southwest.

The South Korea-built Aotearoa is not armed with heavy weapons, but is equipped to carry a helicopter. It is used for replenishment of fuel and other goods at sea.

The New Zealand Defence Force said last month the ship was planning to take part in United Nations sanctions enforcement missions related to North Korea around Japan.

New Zealand, like most countries, 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 each other’s capitals.

New Zealand is also one of only two major countries, along with Singapore, to have a free trade agreement with Taiwan.

U.S. warships sail through the strait every few months, drawing the ire of Beijing, and some U.S. allies like Canada and Britain have also made occasional transits.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has over the past five years stepped up military activities around the island, including staging war games.

Taiwan’s democratically-elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

(Reporting by Greg Torode, Yimou Lee and Lucy Craymer; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)