Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 24 Chinese warplanes near the island as a Canadian warship passed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.
“The Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa passed through the Taiwan Strait on February 16,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 24 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, conducting “joint alert patrols” with Chinese military vessels around the island.
As the Canadian warship Ottawa was passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese military contacted the Canadian warship by radio and warned it to change course, Taiwanese media reported.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry confirmed that it was the first time a Canadian warship had passed through the Taiwan Strait since the beginning of the year. It comes days after two US warships passed through the sensitive maritime area.
A US Navy destroyer and a research vessel have passed through the Taiwan Strait since February 10, prompting a response from the Chinese military, which said the US had sent “wrong signals and increased security risks.”
Data released by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence showed that 62 Chinese military aircraft were detected near Taiwan in the 48 hours up to 6 a.m. on February 12, coinciding with the timing of the US ship’s passage through the Taiwan Strait.
There is currently no information on China’s response to the passage of the Canadian warship through the Taiwan Strait, nor has the Taiwan Defence Agency released data on the number of Chinese warplanes operating near Taiwan on Sunday.
