Canadian warship in Taiwan Strait 'undermines peace', China says
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The Canadian frigate passed through the strait five days after two US Navy ships crossed the body of water that separates mainland China from Taiwan.
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US Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) conducts routine underway operations while transiting through the Taiwan Strait, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP)
China condemned the passage of a Canadian warship through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, with the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese Liberation Army Li Xi saying that Canada's actions "deliberately stir up trouble and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
The Canadian Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa is the third Western Vessel to pass through the strait, after two US Navy ships, the USS Ralph Johnson and the USNS Bowditch, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on February 10.
According to spokesperson Li, the People's Liberation Army dispatched naval and air forces to monitor and guard the ship, adding that the Chinese military will "resolutely counter all threats and provocations."
China and Taiwan
China claims that the self-ruled island of Taiwan is a breakaway province and claims control over the body of water that surrounds the island and separates it from mainland China, while insisting that Taiwan must be reunified with China, by force if it must.
The Chinese ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, recently stated that the reunification between China and Taiwan is imminent, asserting that "no one and nothing can stop" what he considered will be a historic event.
The ambassador said, "China is closer than ever before in history to achieving the goal of the great revival of the Chinese nation, is full of confidence and has the strength to realize this goal, and also has more confidence, strength and is closer to achieving the complete reunification of the country."
Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted in April of last year that foreign interference will not disrupt the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland, adding that "differences in systems cannot change the objective fact that we belong to one nation and one people."
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait has been witness to a rise in tensions between China and Western countries who are siding with Taiwan to counter China's growing influence going as far as to repeatedly assert their position by sailing through the Taiwan Strait.
German warships passed through the strait for the first time in 22 years on September 13, 2024, with the German Minister of Defense at the time telling journalists that "...the message is a very simple one, which we have always supported... international waters are international waters."
New Zealand and Australia sent one ship each to pass on September 26, 2024, making this the first time ships belonging to the two countries sailed in the waters in seven years.
The United States sent the USS John Finn in January of 2024, marking the first passage of a ship that year, and the US Navy claimed that the transit was conducted "through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State."
China has responded to these actions by launching its fourth round of large-scale military drills in two years, deploying warships and fighter jets in what it described as a "stern warning" to "separatist" movements in Taiwan.
