Latest news with #freedomOfNavigation
Free Malaysia Today
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
China condemns British warship's ‘troublemaking' Taiwan Strait transit
The British Royal Navy said the HMS Spey conducted a routine navigation that complied with international law. (US Navy/AFP pic) BEIJING : China's military on Friday condemned the sailing of a British warship through the Taiwan Strait as a deliberate attempt to 'cause trouble', saying it undermined peace and stability in the region. Britain's Royal Navy said the patrol vessel HMS Spey conducted a routine navigation through the narrow waterway that was part of a long-planned deployment and took place in full compliance with international law. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, considers the strait to be Chinese waters. Taiwan, the United States and many of its allies say it is an international waterway. The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army said the Wednesday sailing of the ship was 'public hyping' and that its forces followed and monitored the Spey. 'The British side's remarks distort legal principles and mislead the public; its actions deliberately cause trouble and disrupt things, undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,' it said in a statement. 'Troops in the theatre are on high alert at all times and will resolutely counter all threats and provocations.' Taiwan's government welcomed the sailing. 'The foreign ministry welcomes and affirms the British side once again taking concrete actions to defend the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating its firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters,' the ministry said in a statement. The last time a British warship sailed through the strait was in 2021, when HMS Richmond was deployed in the East China Sea en route to Vietnam. The Chinese military followed it at the time and warned it away. The latest passage comes at a time when Britain and China are seeking to mend their relations, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to visit Beijing later this year – the first trip to the country by a British leader since 2018. US Navy ships sail through the strait around once every two months, sometimes accompanied by allied nations.
Free Malaysia Today
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Taiwan says UK Navy ship sailed through Taiwan Strait
The British Royal Navy's HMS Spey docks at the Port of Manila in the Philippines during a 2023 allied maritime drill. (EPA Images pic) TAIPEI : Taiwan said Thursday a British Navy patrol vessel sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a move that challenges China's claim to the sensitive waterway. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and claims jurisdiction over the body of water that separates the self-ruled island from the Chinese mainland. The US and other countries view the 180km Taiwan Strait as international waters that should be open to all vessels. 'The British Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait on June 18,' Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement. 'The UK has once again taken concrete action to uphold freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait and demonstrate the firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters.' The last time a British Navy ship transited the Taiwan Strait was in 2021, when the HMS Richmond, a frigate deployed with Britain's aircraft carrier strike group, sailed through from Japan to Vietnam. China strongly condemned Britain at the time and deployed its military to follow the vessel. A Canadian warship passed through the strait in February this year, days after a US destroyer and a US ocean survey ship made the passage. Taiwan's military has been reporting near-daily sightings of Chinese warships around its waters, as well as sorties by drones and fighter jets around the island. Taiwan's defence ministry said Thursday it had detected 25 Chinese military aircraft and 7 navy vessels in the 24 hours to 6am.
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Australian navy joins UK to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in contested South China Sea
An Australian naval destroyer has joined a British patrol vessel to conduct a freedom of navigation exercise in the South China Sea, in another sign Australia's military remains intent on pushing back on Beijing's claims over the contested waters. The UK Defence Ministry's Permanent Joint Headquarters publicised the operation on social media on Tuesday — although the Australian Defence Force has not announced it publicly and has not yet responded to the ABC's questions about the activity. "HMS SPEY and HMAS SYDNEY have just conducted Freedom of Navigation Activity around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in accordance with UNCLOS," it said on the social media site X. The two countries conducted the drill while much of the world's attention remains focused on the US strikes on Iran and the threat of a broader conflagration in the Middle East. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory — despite a 2016 international ruling which found that claim invalid — and its navy and coast guard have repeatedly clashed with vessels from the Philippines, which is one of the South-East Asian nations which also has overlapping claims in the sea. China and the Philippines have also had several potentially dangerous aerial encounters over the South China Sea, including in February, when China's military said it had expelled three Philippine aircraft from the Spratly Islands. Australia has conducted freedom of navigation activities in the South China Sea with an expanding number of countries, including the US, Japan, Canada and the Philippines — which have all shown increasing resolve to assert their right to sail through the waters. But Euan Graham from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said it appeared to be the first time that the United Kingdom and Australia had conducted a publicly flagged freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea by themselves. He said both countries were "pushing back against China's excessive maritime claims and thickening military presence in the South China Sea" by asserting their right to navigation. Mr Graham said Canberra was signalling that China's recent partial circumnavigation of the Australian mainland would not deter it from continuing to operate in the South China Sea. Multiple Chinese analysts have suggested that Beijing was using the deployment to Australia to discourage the federal government from sending naval vessels into waters near China. "There's a sense that Australia is stepping up its game and being present (in the South China Sea) at a time when China's navy is exerting its presence close to Australia," Mr Graham said. The United Kingdom and Australia have already been stepping up joint naval activities in the region — including by taking part in an operation to enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea. In February British and Australian ships also joined the United States Navy in the South China Sea to conduct a "coordinated manoeuvring exercise", and last week China lashed the United Kingdom after HMS Spey flagged that it was sailing through the Taiwan Strait. The British government has said that HMAS Sydney and HMS Spey will now sail to Singapore, where they will meet with the United Kingdom's carrier Prince of Wales and a Strike Group with a host of navy ships from the UK, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Spain. The Carrier Strike Group will then sail down to the Northern Territory to join Operation Talisman Sabre — massive Australia-US joint military exercises which will also draw in forces from more than a dozen other nations. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the deployment of the carrier and other British naval vessels to the region — along with around 4,000 UK military personnel — is aimed at "sending a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies".
The Independent
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
China furious as UK warship passes by in patrol
China 's military sharply criticised the passage of a British warship, HMS Spey, through the Taiwan Strait, labelling it a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble" and asserting the waterway constitutes Chinese waters. Britain's Royal Navy maintained the transit was a "routine navigation" conducted in full compliance with international law, aligning with Taiwan and the United States who consider the strait an international waterway. Taiwan's government welcomed the British warship's sailing, affirming its defence of freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te ordered heightened surveillance and intelligence efforts in response to increased Chinese military activities, including a report of 50 aircraft near the island. The incident occurs as China has stepped up military drills around Taiwan, and amid efforts by Britain and China to mend relations, with a potential visit by a British leader to Beijing later this year.
Telegraph
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Britain enrages China with patrolling warship in Taiwan Strait
Britain has enraged China by sailing one of its warships through the Taiwan Strait. HMS Spey, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, sailed through the waterway – which flows between China and Taiwan, and over which Beijing claims sovereignty – on Wednesday. Taiwan hailed the patrol, the first by a British naval vessel since 2021, as the UK defending freedom of navigation of the Strait in the face of increased Chinese aggression in the region. A Navy spokesman said the long-planned deployment 'took place in full compliance with international law'. But China's People's Liberation Army accused the Navy of trying to 'distort legal principles and mislead the public'. It said its actions were 'undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait'. China claims sovereignty over both Taiwan and the Strait, while the government in Taipei considers the waterway to be international waters. The People's Liberation Army also said the ship was responsible for 'public hyping' and that its forces had been monitoring its movements. 'Troops in the theatre are on high alert at all times and will resolutely counter all threats and provocations,' it said. In contrast, Taiwan's foreign ministry said it 'affirms the British side once again taking concrete actions to defend the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait' and 'demonstrating its firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters'. Earlier on Friday, Taiwan's defence ministry said it detected 50 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around the island between 6am on Thursday and 6am on Friday local time. The ministry also said 46 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, entering Taiwan's air defence identification zones. Another 24 People's Liberation Army aircraft were detected on Friday morning, including Russian-made Su-30 fighters and the Chinese-made Shaanxi KJ-500, 15 of which crossed the median line. Taiwan 'monitored the situation and employed [patrol] aircraft, navy vessels and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities,' its defence ministry said. While Chinese aircraft and vessels move around Taiwan almost daily, the number has fluctuated around the low tens on average over the last couple of weeks.
