New Zealand Navy Ships Transit Taiwan Strait En Route to Philippines Exercise

Two Royal New Zealand Navy vessels sailed through the Taiwan Strait last week, the New Zealand Defence Force said Tuesday, in a transit that put fresh attention on the strategic waterway separating Taiwan from mainland China.

The ships — the Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Mana and the sustainment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa — passed through the strait on Sept. 18 while heading to a joint exercise with the Philippines, the Defence Force said.

Beijing says Taiwan is part of its territory and claims jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait, a major international shipping route. New Zealand, the United States, Australia and other countries view the strait as international waters open to all vessels.

A Defence Force spokesman said the passage formed part of a broader regional deployment. "The Royal New Zealand Navy has a long history of deployments in the region which includes passage along regular routes as ships sail between regional engagements," the spokesman said. "As part of its passage, the Task Group completed a transit of the Taiwan Strait."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Monday the navy completed a "routine transit" of the Taiwan Strait. "It was all safe, conducted in international waters as you would expect," Luxon told reporters, adding that it was carried out under international law and in international waters.

New Zealand ships also transited the strait in November 2025.

The transit comes as tensions across the Taiwan Strait have worsened in recent years, with China increasing military pressure on Taiwan and Taipei ramping up its defense spending. For New Zealand, the passage underscores a familiar balancing act: maintaining routine naval deployments and security ties with partners in the region while managing a sensitive relationship with China, its largest trading partner. The move is likely to be closely watched in Beijing and among allied capitals as regional exercises and freedom-of-navigation operations continue.