After months of secretive planning, and preparing the crew to defend their ship if necessary, the Royal Canadian Navy has transited the Taiwan Strait.
As HMCS Ottawa entered the busy and strategically critical body of water at sunrise, it was flanked by three Chinese warships armed with missiles and torpedoes. They mirrored Ottawa’s moves for the entire 17-hour crossing.
Canada made the journey along with the USS Ralph Johnson, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, in what both countries describe as a freedom of navigation exercise.
I think this headline sounds sensationalist. It’s not untrue, but transiting the Taiwan Strait is something the US, Canada, and several other countries do pretty regularly to ensure they are still treated as international waters.
This headline makes it sound like an escalation when actually it’s pretty normal operating procedure.
Clickbait? Say it isn’t so!
Yes, it’s important to note the tone makes it sound like a provocation, good eye. China has been pushing that slant in media a few years now.