Send warships to Taiwan Strait, Borrell urges EU governments

BRUSSELS — EU member countries should deploy warships to patrol the Taiwan Strait in order to deter Beijing’s military aggression, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

In an article published in Le Journal du Dimanche on Saturday, Borrell took a swipe at French President Emmanuel Macron’s sense of detachment on Taiwan as reflected in an interview with POLITICO earlier this month. Borrell argued in the French publication that “Europe must in fact be very present on this issue [of Taiwan], which concerns us economically, commercially and technologically.”

Borrell continued: “That is why I call on European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait to signify Europe’s commitment to freedom of navigation in this absolutely crucial area. At the same time, we must be vigilant against provocations and overbidding.”

“The vast majority of the Taiwanese population believe that the peaceful status quo is the most appropriate solution. Let us therefore be firm in ensuring that this principle is respected,” Borrell added.

Borrell is due to chair a meeting of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers on Monday, where EU-China relations will be a topic.

France, the Netherlands and Germany are widely considered the only EU countries capable of patrol missions as far from home as the west Pacific. The U.K. is another European country with such capabilities; it deployed the then-brand new HMS Queen Elizabeth to the South China Sea in 2021.

It is rare for European warships to transit through the Taiwan Strait, in contrast to the regular passages made by American military vessels.

Earlier this month, a French surveillance frigate Prairial transited through the Strait, according to the Taiwanese government.

However, when the German frigate Bayern sailed through the Indo-Pacific in 2021 for the first time in two decades, it skipped the Taiwan Strait.