U.S. criticizes China's Taiwan Strait traffic controls during typhoon

Washington, Aug. 11 (CNA) The U.S. State Department on Monday expressed Washington's opposition to China's announcement last week that it would impose traffic control measures on vessels in the Taiwan Strait during the approach of Typhoon Dolphin.

"The United States opposes any actions that interfere with high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight that apply in the Taiwan Strait," an unnamed State Department spokesperson told CNA.

The spokesperson was responding to a question from CNA about Washington's stance after China's Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration announced that it would impose traffic control measures beginning 6 p.m. Thursday on northbound vessels entering the Taiwan Strait through its southern approach.

"All vessels must comply with the measures, seek safe shelter from the storm, and follow the instructions of maritime authorities to ensure safety at sea," the administration said in its announcement.

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) responded Friday by saying that the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway and that China has no authority to impose controls over it.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council also criticized the Chinese Communist Party, accusing it of violating international norms by asserting control over the waters "under the pretext of a typhoon."

The move came as China has been conducting what it calls "special maritime law enforcement operations" in waters east of Taiwan since June.

Beijing has said the operations were launched in response to bilateral maritime boundary talks between Japan and the Philippines, which it claims infringe on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitral tribunal ruling that found its maritime claims have no legal basis under international law.

In response, the CGA has regularly dispatched patrol vessels to monitor Chinese ships and ordered them to leave whenever they enter Taiwan's restricted waters.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department have previously criticized China's deployment of coast guard vessels near Taiwan, saying such operations undermine regional stability.