TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Zealand’s largest naval vessel made a rare transit through the Taiwan Strait earlier this month.
New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins told Reuters that the oiler HMNZS Aotearoa sailed from the South China Sea toward Northeast Asia on Nov. 5. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said its forces “maintain comprehensive awareness of all military activities across the region and respond appropriately to ensure national defense security.”
A source said Chinese forces tracked the ship as it passed through the strait. Collins added that the transit fully complied with international law and “includes exercising the right to freedom of navigation, as guaranteed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
The last publicly known New Zealand naval transit through the Taiwan Strait was Sept. 25 last year, when the HMNZS Endeavour sailed alongside the Australian destroyer HMAS Sydney. That marked the first passage by a New Zealand naval vessel since 2017.
Sources said Chinese ships and aircraft continuously monitored Aotearoa, and that fighter jets conducted simulated attacks during the transit.
The passage occurred a day before Taiwan reported that China conducted another “joint combat readiness patrol” on Nov. 6. The exercises included J-16 fighter jets and were focused on the Taiwan Strait and southwest of Taiwan.
The South Korean-built Aotearoa is not armed with heavy weapons but can carry helicopters. It is primarily used for maritime resupply of fuel and other supplies. The New Zealand Defense Force said in October that the ship is scheduled to participate in missions enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea in areas around Japan.
Like most countries, New Zealand does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Taiwan considers New Zealand an important democratic partner, and both maintain representative offices in each other’s capitals to manage substantive ties.
New Zealand is also one of the few major countries, alongside Singapore, to have signed a free trade agreement with Taiwan.
