After months of secretive planning, and preparing the crew to defend their ship if necessary, the Royal Canadian Navy has transited the Taiwan Strait.
As HMCS Ottawa entered the busy and strategically critical body of water at sunrise, it was flanked by three Chinese warships armed with missiles and torpedoes. They mirrored Ottawa’s moves for the entire 17-hour crossing.
Canada made the journey along with the USS Ralph Johnson, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, in what both countries describe as a freedom of navigation exercise.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
As HMCS Ottawa entered the busy and strategically critical body of water at sunrise, it was flanked by three Chinese warships armed with missiles and torpedoes.
Canada made the journey along with the USS Ralph Johnson, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, in what both countries describe as a freedom of navigation exercise.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a June news conference that China is firmly determined to defend its sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability.
During the crossing, CBC News journalists saw that firsthand, with hundreds of cargo vessels leaving Chinese and Taiwanese ports bound for international destinations.
But Yuki Tatsumi, co-director of the Stimson Center’s East Asia program, a Washington think-tank, says Canada’s involvement rejects that thinking.
The Canadian frigate is on a nearly five-month deployment and is now plying the South China Sea, through which more than $4.6 trillion in cargo, a third of all global trade, passes each year.
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