Yesterday, the frigate HMCS Ottawa (341) of the Royal Canadian Navy was closely monitored by the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army of China while sailing near the Taiwan Strait. In response, the Asian Giant deployed naval and air assets to track and observe the Canadian vessel’s movements.
According to reports, the Halifax-class Canadian frigate was sailing through the Taiwan Strait on the morning of Sunday the 16th, just two days after U.S. Navy vessels transited the same area. A press release from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this was the first time this year—and the sixth time since Canada launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy in 2022—that Royal Canadian Navy ships have navigated the area to safeguard freedom of navigation, peace, and openness in the Strait.
As described, HMCS Ottawa transited the Taiwan Strait from south to north. During its passage, the Chinese Navy communicated via radio with the warship, warning it to change course, according to Taiwanese media reports.
Chinese authorities, for their part, denounced the transit as a provocative act, deliberately creating tensions and undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Some media sources reported that Taiwan detected a total of 72 aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, conducting “joint combat readiness patrols” alongside military vessels around the island.
The presence of a Canadian vessel in these waters is no longer unusual, considering that Canada is a close ally of the United States and has participated in multiple exercises in the Indo-Pacific region. In this case, the frigate has been operating in waters near China since the beginning of the year, having been spotted in the East China Sea and the South China Sea in January. Prior to this, the U.S. destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the oceanographic research vessel USNS Bowditch also transited the Taiwan Strait.
From China’s perspective, some analysts see this event as a signal that extra-regional forces support Taiwan’s decision to remain independent from the Asian Giant, despite Beijing’s continued sovereignty claims. Others note that Canadian vessels have frequently sailed through the Taiwan Strait under the pretext of maintaining “freedom of navigation,” and that the latest operation by the Canadian warship was still being planned as part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.
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