By James Pomfret and Ismail Shakil
TAIPEI/OTTAWA (Reuters) – A Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait in what Ottawa called a commitment to an open Indo-Pacific Ocean, as China said the July 31 naval exercise undermined peace.
The Canadian Department of National Defence said the frigate HMCS Montreal had recently completed “a routine transit” through the strait. The defence minister said it was an affirmation of Canada's commitment to a “free, open and inclusive” Indo-Pacific region.
“As outlined in our Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is increasing the Royal Canadian Navy’s presence in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Defence Minister Bill Blair, referring to Canada’s plan for the region announced in 2022.
Li Xi, a spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, said the passage of the Canadian frigate on July 31 had “disturbed and disrupted the situation and undermined peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Chinese troops, he added, are on high alert at all times and “are ready to respond to any threats and provocations.”
China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180 km (110 mi) wide waterway that separates the two sides. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.
About once a month, U.S. warships and occasionally U.S. Navy patrol aircraft pass through or over the strait.
Canadian naval vessels are less common, although the U.S. destroyer USS Rafael Peralta and the Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ottawa sailed through the strait together last November.
Last June, during another joint U.S.-Canadian exercise in the strait, a Chinese warship came within 150 yards of a U.S. destroyer in what the Pentagon called “an unsafe approach.”
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the island's military had “full control” of the surrounding sea and airspace during the Canadian frigate's north-south passage through the strait, and that the situation was normal.
(Additional reporting from the Beijing newsroom; editing by Himani Sarkar and Stephen Coates)
