China’s military has labeled the recent passage of a British warship through the Taiwan Strait as a deliberate act of provocation that “weakens peace and stability”.
The British Royal Navy claims that HMS Spey’s Wednesday patrol was part of a long-planned deployment and complied with international law.
This patrol, the first by a British warship in four years, is happening as a UK carrier strike group arrives in the region for a months-long deployment.
China views Taiwan as its territory – a claim rejected by self-ruled Taiwan, and it hasn’t ruled out using force to “reunite” the island.
China has criticized the UK for “publicly hyping up” the HMS Spey’s voyage, calling the UK’s claims “a distortion of legal principles and a bid to mislead the public”.
“Such actions are deliberate provocations that disrupt the situation and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, according to China.
It said it monitored HMS Spey throughout its journey in the strait, with Chinese troops “resolutely countering all threats and provocations”.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry praised the patrol, calling it an act that safeguarded the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait.
American warships frequently conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the strait, with the last British naval vessel doing so being HMS Richmond in 2021.
That transit was also condemned by China, which had deployed troops to monitor the ship.
HMS Spey is one of two British warships permanently patrolling the Indo-Pacific, with its passage through the Taiwan Strait coming as a UK carrier strike group arrives in the region for an eight-month deployment.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described it as one of the carrier’s largest deployments this century, aiming “to send a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies”.
Around 4,000 UK military personnel are participating in the deployment, which will engage with 30 countries through military operations and visits and conduct exercises with the US, India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Cross-strait tensions between China and Taiwan have increased since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who strongly opposes Beijing, took office last year.
He characterizes Beijing as a “foreign hostile force” and has introduced policies targeting Chinese influence operations in Taiwan.
China continues to conduct frequent military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, including a live-fire exercise in April that it claimed simulated strikes on key ports and energy facilities.
China’s latest criticism of HMS Spey’s transit coincides with two Chinese aircraft carriers conducting an unprecedented simultaneous military drill in the Pacific off the waters of Japan, which has alarmed Tokyo.
