JAKARTA - The Chinese military insists the journey of British warships through the Taiwan Strait is said to be a "deliberate provocation" that "rulls peace and stability".
A spokesman from the Chinese navy criticized Britain for "hidden" the HMS Specy's journey, and said Britain's claims were "distortion of legal principles and attempts to mislead the public".
"Such action is a deliberate provocation that disrupts the situation and undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." the spokesman said as quoted by VOI from the BBC, Saturday, June 21.
He added that they had monitored HMS Specy throughout its journey in the strait, and Chinese troops would firmly counter all threats and provocations.
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Then, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that while China respects the rights of other countries to sail through the Taiwan Strait, it also firmly opposes any country that uses the name of freedom of navigation to provoke and threaten the security of China's sovereignty.
On the other hand, Taiwan's foreign ministry praised the patrol as an act that protects freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. While American warships regularly conduct navigational freedom exercises in the strait, the last time such a trip was carried out by British naval vessels was in 2021 when warships HMStech were deployed to Vietnam. The transit was also condemned by China, which has sent troops to monitor the ship.
HMS Spey is one of two British warships permanently patrolling the Indo-Pacific.
His trip through the Taiwan Strait comes as the British carrier strike group, led by the HMS Prince of Wales carrier, arrives in the Indo-Pacific region for eight months.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described it as one of the largest deployments of aircraft carriers of the century aimed at sending clear message of power to our enemies, and the message of unity and purpose to our allies'.
Around 4,000 British military personnel took part in the deployment.
The group will engage with 30 countries through military operations and visits, and conduct exercises with the US, India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
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