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The Canadian navy’s anti-submarine frigate HMCS Calgary has been on a mission that took it into the contested South China Sea, where it encountered Chinese warships. Photo: Reuters

South China Sea: Canada sends warship to join international forces shadowing Beijing’s navy

  • Western nations deploy sea power to monitor China’s growing presence in contested waters
  • British warship’s pass by China’s island bases was a ‘provocation’

Built to hunt Russian submarines, Canadian frigate HMCS Calgary is instead chasing Japanese and US subs in western Pacific drills as Canada joins other maritime nations in seeking to contain Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The expectation is to see one, if not two ships, on a year-round basis doing a variety of things with a variety of partners in the region,” Commander Blair Saltel, the captain of Calgary, said in Yokosuka, Japan.

US, China set for high-level talks to avert South China Sea clashes

His ship, docked at the naval base near Tokyo along with Canadian navy supply ship the Asterix, left Canada in July on a mission that has taken it through the East China Sea, to Australia and into the contested South China Sea, where it encountered Chinese warships.

The Canadian naval ensign flies from the bow of HMCS Calgary at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan. Photo: Reuters

Last week, it joined Japanese and US warships, including the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, for anti-submarine warfare exercises in the western Pacific that were part of the biggest combat readiness exercise yet staged in and around Japan.

“There’s an opportunity for Canada to demonstrate that we have experience working with allies within coalitions,” Saltel said.

Canada’s decision to sent ships to Asian naval exercises comes as other nations, including Britain and France, bolster their presence in a region, fearing China’s growing military power could see put commercial sea lanes under Beijing’s sway.

Britain this year has sent three warships to the Indo-Pacific, including its largest amphibious assault ship, HMS Albion. On its return journey west following a visit to Japan, the 22,000 tonne vessel, with a contingent of 120 marines, sailed close to islands claimed by China in the South China Sea.

British navy challenges Beijing’s ‘excessive’ South China Sea claims

Beijing, which says its presence on island bases there is peaceful, said the operation was a “provocation”.

Japan, which operates the second largest navy in Asia, this year sent the Kaga helicopter carrier on a two-month tour through the South China Sea, and into Indian Ocean, where it sailed with the latest British warship to travel to the region, HMS Argyll.

Before returning to Canada, the Calgary this month will sail to Sasebo in western Japan, another key base for both the US and Japanese navies, for more anti-submarine warfare drills.

“It’s a steady progression toward a mutual agreement to make sure we can share information, share logistics and be able to cooperate at a moment’s notice should our navies require,” Saltel said on the Calgary’s bridge as his crew and local Japanese engineers carried out maintenance work.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Canada joins warship drills
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