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Jakarta –

American and Canadian warships passed through Taiwan Strait on a joint mission in the sensitive waters separating Taiwan from China. The incident triggered a strong protest from the Chinese side.

Summary detikcom, Sunday (06/04/2023), the Chinese Minister of Defense (Menhan) General Li Shangfu strongly reacted to this.

Initially, American and Canadian warships crossed Taiwan Strait Saturday (3/6), during a joint mission in the sensitive waters separating Taiwan from China.

The Chinese government claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary. In recent years, China has stepped up military and political pressure on the island.

Last week, China’s aircraft carrier Shandong led two more ships through the 180-kilometre (112-mile) wide Taiwan Strait in a show of force after Beijing conducted air and naval exercises around Taiwan in april.

The US 7th Fleet announced on Saturday that its destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Montreal “conducted a routine transit of the Taiwan Strait on June 3” (local time) through waters where the freedom of navigation and overflight applies in accordance with international law.

“Chung-Hoon’s and Montreal’s bilateral transits across the Taiwan Strait demonstrate the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. Navy said.

United States Navy ships frequently navigate the strait, but such missions are rare with ships from other nations. The last joint voyage of US-Canadian military ships through the Taiwan Strait was in September 2022.

In a tweet, the Canadian military confirmed the trip, saying the United States and Canada were “operational partners for peace and security in the region.”

The trip came as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu were attending the Shangri-La Dialogue Defense Summit in Singapore.

The United States had invited Li to meet on the sidelines of the forum, but the Pentagon said Beijing declined.

A member of the Chinese delegation told AFP that the lifting of US sanctions against its ministers was a prerequisite for the talks.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have soared this year over a range of issues, including the alleged Taiwan and China spy balloon shot down by US warplanes.

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(yld/yld)