HMS Spey patrol vessel. Credit Line: / Swns / Swns / Profimedia
The Chinese army has qualified the recent transit of a British military ship through the Taiwan Strait as an “intentional challenge” that “undermines peace and stability,” reports the BBC.
The British Royal Marina argues that the patrol of the HMS Spey ship, carried out on June 18, was part of a long-planned mission and was in accordance with international law.
Patrol, the first made by a British military ship in the last four years, takes place in the context in which a British aircraft carrier group arrives for a mission that will last several months.
China considers Taiwan as part of its territory – a claim that the self -government taiwan rejects – and did not exclude the use of the force for the “reunification” of the island.
China criticized the UK for “publicly publicized” the journey of the HMS Spey ship and said that the British statements are “a distortion of legal principles and an attempt to mislead the public.”
“Such actions are intentional challenges that disrupt the situation and undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the Chinese army transmitted.
China added that he has monitored the entire travel of the HMS Spey ship through the straits and that his troops “will firmly counteract all threats and challenges.”
In contrast, the Taiwan Foreign Ministry has welcomed the patrol of the British ship, considering it an act that defends the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait.
Although American war vessels frequently perform such exercises for the freedom of navigation in the area, the last similar passage made by a British military ship took place in 2021, when HMS Richmond was sent to Vietnam. And then, China condemned the action and sent troops to monitor the situation.
HMS Spey is one of the two British war vessels permanently in Indo-Pacific patrol. Its transit through the Taiwan Strait coincides with the arrival of a British naval attack group, led by the HMS Prince of Wales, for an eight-month mission.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described this unfolding as one of the largest aircraft carrier, meant to “convey a clear message of force to our opponents and a message of unity and decision to our allies.”
