America and China spar over the Taiwan Strait
Tensions in the region are simmering, not least over use of the waterway
To chinese nationalists, keen to see America pushed from their country’s backyard, the words of a foreign-ministry official have brought hope. Describing the Taiwan Strait as international waters is a “false claim”, the spokesman said on June 13th. China, he insisted, has “sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the waterway. His words were aimed at America, which calls it international waters and often angers China by sailing warships through it. Soon “the dragon will fight the tiger” in the strait, a Chinese academic warned in an online article.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Whose is it?”
From the June 25th 2022 edition
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