American ships, USS Chung-Hoon, and Canadian, HMCS Montreal, crossed the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, which has turned into a geopolitical powder keg in recent years, announced the US Navy and the Canadian army.
“The passage of the Chung-Moon and the Montreal through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and its allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” said the U.S. 7th Fleet. .
The United States and Canada are “partners working for peace and security in the region,” the Canadian military tweeted.
American-Chinese meeting in Singapore
The Chinese military said it monitored the passage of ships from the United States and Canada. “The countries in question are intentionally creating trouble in the Taiwan Strait, deliberately increasing the risks and recklessly undermining regional peace and stability,” said Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Chinese Eastern Area Command. .
American ships regularly cross the Taiwan Strait but they rarely do so accompanied by an Allied ship. The last joint American-Canadian passage dates back to September.
The passage comes as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu briefly greeted each other for the first time at the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Defense Dialogue Conference in Singapore.
Relationships at rock bottom
Three Chinese ships, including the aircraft carrier Shandong, crossed the Taiwan Strait at the end of May. While the presence of Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait is constantly monitored and announced almost daily by Taipei, that of the aircraft carrier Shandong is unusual.
Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China has viewed Taiwan as a province that it has yet to successfully reunify with the rest of its territory.
Relations between Beijing and Taipei, at their lowest since Xi Jinping came to power more than ten years ago, have deteriorated further in recent years and China has stepped up military incursions around the island.