(MENAFN) The Chinese military has sharply criticized the recent passage of Canadian and Australian warships through the Taiwan Strait, labeling the move a deliberate provocation. Beijing regards Taiwan—self-governed since 1949 following the Chinese Civil War—as an inseparable part of its territory under the One-China principle and claims sovereignty over the strait itself.

Although Canada and Australia, alongside countries like the US, UK, and France, do not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent state, they treat the Taiwan Strait as an international waterway and routinely conduct naval transits through it.

On Saturday, the Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec and the Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane entered the strait, just one day after China accused both nations of escalating tensions with military exercises in the South China Sea. Beijing reported that its forces tracked and issued warnings to the vessels, condemning the operation as “trouble-making and provocation.”

“The actions of the Canadians and Australians send the wrong signals and increase security risks,” stated the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command on Sunday.

Responding to the situation, an Australian Defense Department spokesperson described Brisbane’s passage as a “routine transit” conducted alongside the Canadian ship from September 6 to 7. The spokesperson affirmed, “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.”

Canada’s Joint Operations Command declined to comment specifically on the transit but confirmed that the Ville de Quebec was deployed on Operation Horizon, Canada’s Indo-Pacific mission aimed at promoting “peace and stability.”

Earlier this week, the frigate also participated in freedom-of-navigation exercises off the Philippines alongside Australia, the US, and local forces. Beijing condemned the drills, accusing Manila of collaborating with Western powers to destabilize the region.

The Taiwan Strait, a crucial artery for global shipping, remains a hotspot for military friction between China and Western navies. Earlier this year, another Canadian frigate, HMCS Montreal, conducted a similar passage, prompting China’s military to vow it would “resolutely take countermeasures against any threats or provocations.”

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