The Canadian naval frigate HMCS Ottawa transited through the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, days after two US ships also transited the Strait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
It was the first time this year and the sixth time since Canada launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy in 2022 that Canadian warships have transited the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a news release, thanking Canada for taking concrete actions to safeguard freedom of navigation, peace and openness of the Strait.
The action demonstrated Canada’s firm stance to maintain the Taiwan Strait’s legal status as international waters, and its determination to protect peace and stability in the Strait, it added.
Photo from the HMCS Ottawa’s Facebook page
The Canadian frigate passed through the Taiwan Strait from south to north, the Ministry of National Defense said, adding that the nation’s armed forces maintained full control over the surrounding sea and airspace.
During the Canadian warship’s passage, China’s military radioed the ship and warned it to change course, Taiwanese media reported.
The US and its allies regularly pass through the 180km-wide Strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway.
A US destroyer and ocean survey ship transited the Strait on Monday last week, drawing criticism from China’s military, which said it sent the “wrong signal and increased security risks.”
The defense ministry yesterday said that 24 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, were detected carrying “joint combat readiness patrols” with military vessels around the nation.
Sixty-two Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft were detected near Taiwan in the 48 hours from 6am on Wednesday, coinciding with the US ships’ transit, data released by the defense ministry showed.
Washington’s latest passage through the Taiwan Strait was the first time since US President Donald Trump took office in last month.
It came after Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said they “opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo [in the Taiwan Strait] by force or coercion.”
The foreign affairs ministry in the same release said the nation would continue to strengthen its self-defense capability and staunchly oppose authoritarian expansion.
It also said it would deepen cooperation with like-minded nations, and together defend the rules-based international order, as well as peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, it said.
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