Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal (FFH-336) conducted a Taiwan Strait transit Wednesday, drawing the ire of China.
The Canadian Joint Operations Command announced the transit at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday on social media site X, saying in the post that Canada operated in accordance with international law.
“Our activities promote peace, resilience, and security in the #IndoPacific,” reads a follow up post.
Montreal is in the Indo-Pacific under Canada’s Operation Horizon, part of the country’s Indo-Pacific strategy, Canada’s National Defence announced on April 14 when the ship deployed. While deployed, Montreal has visited South Korea, making a port call in early July.
It recently conducted bilateral operations with USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) in the East China Sea, according to a post on the frigate’s Facebook page.
China’s People Liberation Army air and naval forces monitored the transit, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based news outlet.
Naval Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the PLA Eastern Theatre Command, posted on the command’s official WeChat channel saying the transit created instability in the Taiwan Strait, as well as undermined peace, South China Morning Post reported. Li also claimed that Canada “hyped up” the transit, according to the reporting.
