Two New Zealand Navy vessels — the frigate Te Mana and the tanker Aotearoa — transited the Taiwan Strait on Friday, September 18, as part of a three-month Indo-Pacific deployment, the country’s Defence Force said on Monday, September 21.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the transit “a routine activity,” carried out “in international waters” and under international law, and said he did not expect any reaction from China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner. China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the strait is an international waterway and that it does not proactively disclose the movements of allied forces. Reuters reported, citing one source, that the Aotearoa was tracked by Chinese forces when it last transited the strait in November 2025.