TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A French naval vessel transited through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday (Oct. 29).
At 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said a French naval ship sailed south to north through the strait from Monday night to Tuesday morning. The MND monitored the passage and said the situation was normal.
This follows a transit by the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) of the US Seventh Fleet and the Royal Canadian Navy's Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) on Oct. 20.
According to RW News report, the French warship navigated through the strait on the west side of the median line closer to China. This is unlike the US and Canadian ships, which passed east of the median line closer to Taiwan.
Chang Ching (張競), a research fellow at the Society for Strategic Studies and retired Navy captain, told RW News the Prairial (F731), a Floreal-class frigate, made the passage. Chang said French naval activity in the First Island Chain has increased since France and the Philippines agreed to enhance cooperation in December 2023 and established a French defense attache office in the Philippines in May.
Between April 22 and May 10, France deployed the frigate Vendemiaire (F734), which participated in the Philippines-hosted Balikatan 24 multinational annual military exercise and visited Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island. In May, the French frigate Bretagne (D655) also visited the port of Manila.
Chang said the Prairial had a goodwill visit to Cebu from Oct. 22-25. During its port call, the crew interacted with Philippine troops, “reinforcing the French military interoperability with the navies,” per The Philippine Star.
Chang said that, given the influence of Typhoons Trami and Kong-rey, along with a seasonal high-pressure system, Prairial’s passage through the Taiwan Strait likely took navigational safety into account.