Desk Report,
China angered by Canadian-Australian warships in Taiwan Strait
China has expressed outrage over the passage of two Canadian and Australian warships through the sensitive waters of the Taiwan Strait. The country’s military said on Saturday that it views the incident as an “attempt to create trouble and provocation.”
China angered by Canadian-Australian warships in Taiwan Strait
The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said that the Canadian warship Ville de Quebec and the Australian guided-missile destroyer Brisbane had crossed the Taiwan Strait. At that time, the Chinese military followed and warned the warships. The PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that such actions by Canada and Australia were sending the wrong message and increasing security risks.
A spokesman for the Australian Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Brisbane had crossed the Taiwan Strait between September 6 and 7. It was part of regular navigation in accordance with international law.
The spokesman added that the Canadian warship HMCS Ville de Quebec also passed through the strait at the same time. The Australian navy and air force will continue to exercise freedom of navigation in international waters and abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
A Canadian military spokesman said, “We will not comment on the current course of our ships in the Taiwan Strait.” However, he said, the Ville de Quebec is currently participating in Operation Horizon, which aims to strengthen peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
A Canadian government statement said the ship took part in a naval exercise in the Philippine exclusive economic zone earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said it was closely monitoring the situation in the strait. Appropriate naval and air forces are being deployed to maintain security and stability.
The US Navy operates ships through the Taiwan Strait at least once a month. They are sometimes accompanied by warships from Canada, Britain and France. These countries and Taiwan consider the strait to be an international waterway.
But China claims that the Taiwan Strait is part of its territorial waters. The self-ruled island of Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claim.
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in the past five years. As part of the pressure, Beijing regularly conducts war games in the strait near Taiwan.
