The Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Montréal sails in the Atlantic in 2005. (Royal Canadian Navy)
A spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command has slammed a transit carried out by a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) frigate through the Taiwan Strait.
In his statement issued on 1 August, the spokesperson, Naval Senior Captain Li Xi, also accused the RCN of ‘hyping up' the operation.
On 31 July the Canadian Armed Forces' Joint Operations Command disclosed via its official social media pages that the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montréal had carried out a passage through the Taiwan Strait.
It was carried out as part of Operation ‘Horizon', reads the statement in reference to Ottawa's push to maintain the Canadian Armed Forces' forward presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Together with our allies, Canada supports the rules-based international order by operating in accordance with international law. Our activities promote peace, resilience, and security in the Indo-Pacific,” the Joint Operations Command statement added, without making references to any country.
In its statement, the PLA spokesperson confirmed that the transit took place on 31 July and referred to it as a “provocative move”.
In response to the transit, PLA Eastern Theater Command had “organised naval and air forces to track, monitor, and deal with the Canadian frigate's transit in the whole course and handled it according to law and regulations”, the spokesperson said. No further details on this were provided.
“The act of the Canadian side disturbs the situation and undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command will remain on high alert at all times and be ready to respond to all threats and provocations,” he added.
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