TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet revealed this weekend that the U.S. Navy conducted a Freedom of Navigation Operation through the Taiwan Strait early in November, but refrained from publicly announcing it at the time of transit.
The transit by the destroyer-class USS Benfold occurred on Nov. 5, nine days before U.S. President Joe Biden met with CCP Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) at the G20 Summit in Bali on Nov. 14. A Nikkei report suggests the transit was not made public to “avoid friction with Beijing” ahead of the Xi-Biden meeting.
Information about the transit was revealed to Nikkei on Saturday (Nov. 19). However, the U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman did not give a specific reason for delaying the announcement of the USS Benfold’s transit, according to the report.
At the time, the USS Benfold was on its way to join the Keen Sword 2023 exercises, which reportedly lasted two weeks. The exercises emphasize regional priorities and “stress critical capabilities required to respond to crisis or contingency in the Indo-Pacific region,” according to a PACOM report.
The exercises were conducted by the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5, which is led by the USS Ronald Reagan, in cooperation with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Ships representing the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy also took part.
Reports indicate that the exercises “took place in waters around Japan” as well as “international waters.” A press release states that the Keen Sword 2023 exercises concluded on Nov. 18.
A photograph published by PACOM shows the USS Benfold conducting a replenishment-at-sea drill alongside the USNS Rappahannock in the Philippine Sea, on the date of Nov. 8. The photo suggests that the Nov. 5 transit through the Taiwan Strait was from north to south.
(Photo and caption from PACOM website)
Given reported information on the dates of the Keen Sword drills, it is likely that USS Benfold’s transit through the strait was a component of the Keen Sword 2023 exercises, which may be why the transit was not immediately made public. The Taiwan Strait is almost certainly one of the aforementioned “regional priorities” of the multinational alliance joining the exercises.
Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly, commander of CSG 5, was quoted in the press release, saying that the exercises are “a powerful symbol of the strength of a force all committed to the same ideals that keep this region secure and stable.”
JMSDF Commander, Rear Admiral Hirata Toshiyuki agreed. “We are facing big challenges in the region, but our relationship is stronger than at any time in history, and is contributing to strengthening deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance, and to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region."
