By Micah McCartney Newsweek World
Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have continued to simmer this week, as the U.S. sent another warship through the waterway and China's coast guard carried out a contentious patrol near Taipei-controlled islands.
Newsweek has reached out to the Taiwanese and Chinese foreign ministries with written requests for comment.
Why It Matters
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory-a position rejected by the Taiwanese government and a large majority of its citizens-and maintains that unification is inevitable, by force if necessary. Taiwan has taken steps to bolster its defenses, but some U.S. officials say it must do more as Chinese pressure and military capabilities grow.
The United States doesn't formally recognize Taiwan's statehood but is obliged to supply the island with defensive arms under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. The U.S. law, which Beijing rejects, also gives the U.S. president authority to intervene militarily in the event of conflict between Beijing and Taipei, should they choose, following consulations with Congress.
Tensions between Taiwan and China continue after China carried out major military drills near the island earlier this month and continued Chinese air force and coast guard activities in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing Slams Arms Sales, Warns Taipei of Abandonment by U.S.
During its regular press briefing Thursday, China's defense ministry criticized U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
"We firmly oppose any form of military collusion between the United States and Taiwan," spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said.
While the U.S.-like most countries-does not maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it remains the island's largest source of foreign arms. In recent years, Washington has approved the sale of tens of billions of dollars in defense equipment, including high-value systems like F-16 fighter jets and Abrams tanks.
Zhang accused Washington of enabling "Taiwan independence separatists" and warned Taipei it would ultimately be "stabbed in the back" and "abandoned as a useless [U.S.] pawn."
'National Security' Rule Announced for Hong Kong Immigrants
It will soon become easier for citizens from the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau to apply for a new type of long-term residency in Taiwan-with one condition: they will first undergo a period of "national security observation," Chiu Chui-cheng, who heads the Taiwan agency tasked with China affairs, told local media Sunday.
Chiu said the measure was necessary to protect the island's security. Thousands of Hong Kongers have relocated to Taiwan seeking greater political freedoms following China's crackdown on democracy in the former British colony.
While Taiwan's government was largely supportive of the protest movement, many Hong Kongers have complained of difficulty securing long-term residency on the island amid concerns over the entry of potential Chinese agents.
Taiwan has prosecuted a series of espionage cases in recent years, including within its military and the ranks of the ruling party.
U.S. Navy Sends Destroyer Through Strait
The U.S. Navy sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday for the second time during U.S. President Donald Trump's second term. The transit was conducted by the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence in "waters where freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law," a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesperson told Newsweek.
Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command, on Thursday accused Washington of "hyping up" the transit to mislead international opinion and said the command had deployed air and naval assets to monitor the most recent U.S. passage. Taiwan's Defense Ministry declined to comment.
The U.S. has long acknowledged China's claim over Taiwan-without taking an official position on sovereignty-but opposes unilateral moves to change the status quo in the strait. Washington carries out routine transits to assert the strait's openness under international law and signal support for Taiwan.
Incursions by Air and Sea Add to Tensions
Between Sunday and Friday, People's Liberation Army aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), Taiwan's defense authorities reported, an increase of 19 over the same period last week.
An ADIZ is an area lying beyond territorial air space allowing governments to monitor and identify incoming aircraft for security reasons.
Chinese incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ, once uncommon, have become routine in recent years. Analysts say the trend is meant to intimidate Taipei and wear down its air force by forcing repeated scrambles to intercept the Chinese planes.
On Wednesday, China's coast guard dispatched four cutters into waters near Kinmen, a Taiwan-controlled outlying island county off the Chinese coast, Taiwan's coast guard stated.
The Taiwanese agency said China's coast guard has entered restricted waters around Kinmen 70 times so far this year. Analysts say the patrols, which began in early 2024, are part of an effort by Beijing to establish a new status quo.
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This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
