China’s military has called a British warship’s recent passage through the Taiwan Strait a disruptive act of “intentional provocation” that “undermines peace and stability”.
The British Royal Navy says HMS Spey’s patrol on Wednesday was part of a long-planned deployment and was in accordance with international law.
The patrol – the first by a British naval vessel in four years – comes as a UK carrier strike group arrives in the region for a deployment that will last several months.
China considers Taiwan its territory – a claim that self-ruled Taiwan rejects – and has not ruled out the use of force to “reunify” the island.
A spokesman from China’s navy criticised the UK for “publicly hyping up” the journey of HMS Spey, and said the UK’s claims were “a distortion of legal principles and an attempt to mislead the public”.
“Such actions are intentional provocations that disrupt the situation and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
It added that it had monitored HMS Spey throughout its journey in the strait, and Chinese troops “will resolutely counter all threats and provocations”.
Later, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that while China respects other countries’ rights to sail through the Taiwan Strait, it also “firmly opposes any country using the name of freedom of navigation to provoke and threaten China’s sovereign security.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry has meanwhile praised the patrol as an act that safeguarded the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait.
