Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday that a Canadian Navy frigate from the South China Sea continues to sail north after passing through the Taiwan Strait. The military is using joint “intelligence surveillance” to control the situation and the situation is normal.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) issued a press release in the evening of Oct. 3, stating that the Canadian frigate’s journey northward through the Taiwan Strait was normal, and that the MND had full control of relevant developments in the surrounding sea and airspace. This is the first time this year that the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense has announced a foreign warship other than the U.S. Navy sailing through the Taiwan Strait.
According to Taiwanese media, the last time a Canadian Navy warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait was the frigate HMCS Ottawa on August 10 last year, and the frigate HMCS Regina and supply ship MV Asterix on June 18 last year, according to a public message from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
Other foreign warships that passed through the Taiwan Strait last year included the Philippine Navy landing ship BRPDavao del Sur on August 15 and the French Navy destroyer Vendemiaire on April 6.
At a time of increasing tensions between the U.S. and China in recent years, U.S. Navy warships have also frequently sailed through the Taiwan Strait. Most recently, the USS Halsey, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, passed through the Taiwan Strait on August 31. This is the ninth time this year that U.S. ships have transited the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) released information about the PLA’s military aircraft on its official website in the evening of October 3 in a special section called “Instant Military News”. According to the Air Force Command, a PLA Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft intruded into Taiwan’s southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) that day, and the Air Force, in addition to dispatching military aircraft to respond to the intrusion, implemented a broadcast to drive it away, and also used anti-aircraft missiles to track and monitor it. This was the 10th time since September 16 that the PLA had disturbed Taiwan.
At the time, U.S. Undersecretary of State Cratchit visited Taiwan on September 17, becoming the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Taiwan after the U.S.-Taiwan diplomatic relations were severed. This move infuriated Beijing, and on September 18 alone, the PLA sent a total of 18 sorties of Boom 6, J 16, J 11, J 10 and other military aircraft to continuously harass the southwest, west, north and northwest airspace of Taiwan, 12 of which flew over Taiwan’s centerline. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense sent out 24 sorties from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to drive them away. Rarely did the Air Force make as many as 17 emergency takeoffs of various types of fighter jets from bases throughout Taiwan. The Chinese Ministry of Defense also announced that morning that the PLA’s Eastern Theater was organizing combat drills near the Taiwan Sea.
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