Canadian warship made rare patrol through the Taiwan Strait


As tensions between Canada and China rise, Frigate HMCS Regina of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) transited through the Taiwan Strait and patrolled the waters of this area on June 18.


Canadian warship made rare patrol through the Taiwan Strait Royal Canadian Navy vessels, including HMCS Regina (FFH 334) during the Operation NEON (Picture Source: Canadian Navy)


Taiwanese netizens on the online forum PTT first commented about the apparent transit of the Canadian Halifax-class frigate HMCS Regina (FFH 334) through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday. The website MarineTraffic also tracked the warship as it passed through the Taiwan Strait from the South China Sea, before heading toward the East China Sea.

The ship is part of a detachment of Canadian warships dispatched for Operation NEON, a mission to ensure UN sanctions against North Korea are being enforced, as we reported on June 05. The warship’s passage from the South China Sea to the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait is also a symbolic gesture to defy China’s claim to the exclusive ownership of all three bodies of water and ensure freedom of navigation in the region.

As such frequent “provocations” by US, Canadian, French, and other navies occur in the Taiwan Strait, China is preparing to “internalise” the strait from a legal point of view, reported NewTalk.