TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Canadian and Australian naval vessels navigated through the Taiwan Strait this weekend, with China’s military tracking the transit and denouncing it as a provocation.
On Saturday, Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec and Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane entered the Taiwan Strait, per The Globe and Mail. PLA Eastern Theater Command Spokesperson Shi Yi labeled the maneuvers as “provocative,” and said Chinese forces monitored the transit, per Xinhua.
The Ministry of National Defense also kept tabs on the transit, per CNA.
In recent years, US and allied forces have insisted on their right to conduct freedom of navigation operations in the strait, angering Beijing, which has increased its military presence there to pressure Taiwan. The Ville de Quebec has been deployed in the western Pacific since April as part of what Canada describes as a military mission in the Indo-Pacific region “to promote peace, stability, and the rules-based international order," reported The Globe and Mail.
When announcing the deployment, Canadian Joint Operations Command Commander Lieutenant-General Steve Boivin said, “This deployment further demonstrates the Canadian Armed Forces’ commitment to international peace and security efforts through operational excellence." He added that, "Our ability to integrate seamlessly with our allies makes us a valued partner in maintaining global stability,” per The Globe and Mail.
Before the joint transit, the Canadian and Australian warships participated in a multinational exercise with the Philippines and the US near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sept. 3. The drills were condemned by Chinese state-run media.
CTV also reported that Captain Wyatt Shorter, spokesperson of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, said last week that the Ville de Quebec was on Operation HORIZON. At the time, Shorter declined to comment on whether the frigate would pass through the Taiwan Strait, stating only that “discussing these details in advance would be a breach of operational security.”
