A British Royal Navy patrol vessel on Wednesday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, adding that it welcomed the transit as affirmation that the UK is taking concrete action to safeguard freedom of navigation in the region.
Beijing claims jurisdiction over the body of water that separates it from Taiwan. The US and other countries view the 180km Strait as international waters that should be open to all vessels.
“The British Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait on June 18,” the ministry said in a statement. “The UK has once again taken concrete action to uphold freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait and demonstrate the firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters.”
Photo: Screen grab from the British Royal Navy’s Web site
Like-minded countries such as the UK are welcome to safeguard peace and stability in the Strait, promote freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region and maintain the rules-based international order, it added.
The British Office Taipei said in a separate statement that the HMS Spey operated in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law, it said, adding that the navy’s exercise of freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait is not unprecedented.
The last time a British naval vessel transited the Strait was in 2021, when the HMS Richmond, a frigate deployed with a British aircraft carrier strike group, sailed through from Japan to Vietnam. China condemned the UK at the time and deployed its military to follow the vessel.
A Canadian warship passed through the Strait in February, days after a US destroyer and a US ocean survey ship made the passage.
The Ministry of National Defense has been reporting near-daily sightings of Chinese warships around Taiwan’s waters, as well as sorties by drones and fighter jets.
It had detected 25 Chinese military aircraft and seven navy vessels in the 24 hours to 6am yesterday, it said.
In related news, MOFA in a statement condemned the inclusion of a false claim of Taiwan being a part of China in a joint declaration adopted by Beijing and five of its allies in Central Asia during a summit this week.
The foreign ministry condemns Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) outrageous remarks claiming Taiwan is an inseparable part of China during his attendance at the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, held from Monday to Wednesday, it said.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used such public occasions of meeting with heads of state to undermine the status of the Republic of China as a sovereign country, the ministry said.
It also protested and condemned leaders and officials of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for echoing Beijing’s stance in the Astana Declaration signed by the six countries during the summit.
Neither the Republic of China nor the People’s Republic of China has been subordinate to the other, while the CCP regime has never governed Taiwan, including Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, MOFA said.
No country should seek to deny Taiwan’s existence by issuing a joint statement, it said.
It also urged the five Central Asian countries to stop backing Beijing’s statements that are intended to destabilize peace in the region.
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