USS Green Bay Transits Taiwan Strait

August 23, 2019 6:40 PM
PHILIPPINE SEA (Aug. 5, 2019) Ensign Daniel Nguyen, from Gainesville, Georgia, uses a pelorus on the bridge of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD-20). Green Bay is part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Navy photo

San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD-20) transited the Taiwan Strait Friday morning at a time of increased trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

News of the transit was first reported by Reuters.

As news of Green Bay’s Taiwan Strait transit spread, China announced it was increasing a host of existing tariffs on U.S. products by five to ten percent, according to a post on MarketWatch.

China considers it a provocation when foreign naval vessels pass through the 110-wide body of water separating the mainland from the island of Taiwan. The policy of the U.S. and other nations steaming through the strait is these trips are intended to ensure the free passage of vessels through the international waters.

Since July 2018, the U.S. Navy has sent ships through the Taiwan Strait ten times. French and Canadian naval vessels have also transited the strategic waterway during the past year.

Recent U.S. Taiwan Strait Transits:

Jul 7, 2018 USS Benfold (DDG-65), USS Mustin (DDG-92)
Oct 22, 2018 USS Antietam (CG-54), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54)
Nov 28, 2018 USS Stockdale (DDG-106), USNS Pecos (T-AO-197)
Jan 24, 2019 USS McCampbell (DDG-85), USS Walter Dielh (T-AO-193)
Feb 25, 2019 USS Stethem (DDG-63), USNS Ceasar Chavez (T-AKE-14)
March 24, 2019 USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USCGC Bertholf (WSML-750)
April 28, 2019 USS Stethem (DDG-63), USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110)
May 23 USS Preble (DDG-88), USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193)
July 24, 2019 USS Antietam (CG-54)
August 23, 2019 USS Green Bay (LPD-20)
Ben Werner

Ben Werner

Ben Werner is a staff writer for USNI News. He has worked as a freelance writer in Busan, South Korea, and as a staff writer covering education and publicly traded companies for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., Savannah Morning News in Savannah, Ga., and Baltimore Business Journal. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from New York University.

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