China Condemns Canadian and Australian Warships’ Passage Through Taiwan Strait

The Chinese military has strongly criticized the passage of Canadian and Australian warships through the Taiwan Strait, denouncing the transit as a “provocation” and “trouble-making.”

Beijing considers Taiwan—self-ruled since 1949 following the Chinese Civil War—as part of its territory under the One-China principle. It also claims sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, a position rejected by countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France, which regard the waterway as an international channel and regularly conduct transits to assert freedom of navigation.

The Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec and the Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane sailed through the strait early Saturday, a day after Beijing accused both nations of “stoking tensions” through joint military drills in the South China Sea. China said its forces tracked and issued warnings to the vessels, warning that their actions “sent the wrong signals and increased security risks,” according to the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command.

In response, an Australian Defence Department spokesperson described the passage as a “routine transit” conducted between September 6 and 7 alongside the Canadian frigate. “Australian vessels and aircraft will continue to exercise freedom of navigation and uphold international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the spokesperson said.

Canadian Joint Operations Command declined to comment directly on the Taiwan Strait passage but noted that the Ville de Quebec is deployed under Operation Horizon, Ottawa’s Indo-Pacific mission aimed at promoting “peace and stability.”

Earlier in the week, the Canadian frigate participated in what Canada and its partners described as freedom-of-navigation exercises off the Philippines, alongside Australia, the United States, and local forces. Beijing dismissed the drills, accusing Manila of colluding with Western powers to undermine regional stability.

The Taiwan Strait, one of the busiest maritime trade routes globally, remains a flashpoint between China and Western navies. Earlier this year, another Canadian frigate, HMCS Montreal, also transited the strait, prompting China to vow “resolute countermeasures” against what it views as threats or provocations.