Chinese military tracks US, Canadian warships’ transit through Taiwan Strait

Name: North Korea shows off nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles in new propaganda posters
Uploaded: 2022-09-21T06:00:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 21 s
Description: North Korea shows off nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles in new propaganda posters

China’s air force and navy monitor passage of guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins and Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver

Spokesman for PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command denounces ‘provocative move’

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The USS Higgins, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was jointed by a Canadian frigate as it sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday. Photo: US Navy

Kawala Xie

Published: 2:00pm, 21 Sep 2022Updated: 3:34pm, 21 Sep 2022

The Chinese air force and navy tracked US and Canadian warships as they transited through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said.

The command said on Wednesday that it monitored the passage of the USS Higgins, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, and the Canadian navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver in the Taiwan Strait.

Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theatre Command, “denounced [the] provocative move”, according to the Chinese military.

“The troops of the PLA Eastern Theatre Command are on high alert at all times to resolutely counter any threat and provocation and safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the command said in a statement.

The US Navy 7th Fleet said in a statement that the transit was routine and conducted beyond “the territorial sea of any coastal state”.

The Canadian defence department said the transit was conducted “in full accordance with international law” as part of operations in the Indo-Pacific region aimed at pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.

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Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said the mission showed the country’s commitment to a “free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific” region.