French Warship in Taiwan Strait
Over the Easter weekend, the French warship Prairial transited through the Taiwan Strait to the East China Sea as part of its upcoming participation in the Enforcement Coordination Cell (ECC) mission.
This operation aims to enforce maritime sanctions defined by United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCR) on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to end its nuclear program.
The Taiwan Strait is a disputed area between the Republic of China, also called Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC claims the sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, whereas it remains international water. Thus, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the freedom of navigation applies to the area and no-one can object to the transit of a foreign vessel through the Strait.
The frigate Prairial belongs to the French Pacific Fleet (ALPACI), and to the French Polynesian Forces (FAPF), based on the island of Tahiti. After a port visit in Haiphong in Vietnam and a maritime patrol in the Paracel Islands, the warship is resuming its mission in North Asia in order to consolidate the French position in the Pacific Region as a balance of power.
