NZ Navy frigates transit Taiwan Strait; PLA tracks vessels

INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY

STRAIT TRANSIT: Chinese state media reported that two vessels of the Royal New Zealand Navy, frigate HMNZS Te Mana and replenishment ship HMNZS Aotearoa, transited the Taiwan Strait on Sept. 18, with the PLA tracking and monitoring the vessels throughout their passage. TSM’s Taiwan Strait Transit Tracker records this as the sixth allied transit of 2026 and the first since the Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter passed through on June 5. It is also New Zealand’s third publicly documented Strait passag