China says Canada 'deliberately stirred up trouble' with warship sailing in Taiwan Strait
CBC
China's military on Monday condemned the sailing of a Canadian warship in the Taiwan Strait, saying its air and naval forces had monitored and warned the ship, a mission that came just a few days after U.S. navy ships made a similar mission.
The U.S. navy, and occasionally ships from allied countries like Canada, Britain and France, transits the strait about once a month. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, also says the strategic waterway belongs to it.
Canada's actions "deliberately stirred up trouble" and undermined peace and stability in the strait, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.
"Theatre forces maintain a high level of alert at all times and resolutely counter all threats and provocations," it added.
There was no immediate response by Global Affairs Canada to the Chinese statement.
Both the Chinese and Taiwanese governments identified the ship as HMCS Ottawa.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that the ship had sailed in a northerly direction, adding that Taiwanese forces also kept watch.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the sailing.
"Canada has once again taken concrete actions to defend the freedom, peace and openness of the Taiwan Strait and has demonstrated its firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters," it said on Sunday.
Last October, a U.S. and a Canadian warship sailed together through the strait, less than a week after China conducted a new round of war games around the island.
Taiwan's democratically elected government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.
