China’s military accuses Australia of provocation, trails Australian vessels
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The news: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China said it followed and warned Australian HMAS Brisbane and Canada’s HMCS Ville de Québec after the naval ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
The context: The PLA accused Australia and Canada of “provocative actions” and sending out “wrong signals” leading to “heightened security risks” in the contested waterway.
"The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command organized its naval and air forces to track and monitor the transit of the two vessels, effectively responding and handling the situation," said army senior colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command.
The spokesperson added that PLA troops remain “are on high alert at all times and are ready to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty, security, and regional peace and stability.”
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Defence told the ABC that the HMAS Brisbane had "conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait" and said the movement was "in accordance with international law…Australian vessels and aircraft will continue to exercise freedom of navigation and uphold International Law, particularly United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
Last week the HMAS Brisbane participated in freedom of navigation exercises with Canada, the Philippines and the US in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
The US Navy and occasionally ships from allied countries including Canada, Britain, France and Australia sail through the Taiwan Strait, which they consider an international waterway. Taiwan also views the Strait as an international waterway, but China argues that the strait is part of its territorial waters.
China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, has been increasing its military pressure on the island for several years and launched large-scale military drills off the Taiwanese coast in April.
