The Taiwan Strait does not belong to China and any attempts to create tension threaten global security, the island’s defence ministry said on Monday, after Beijing criticised Canada for sailing a warship through the sensitive waterway.
The U.S. Navy and occasionally ships from allied countries like Canada, Britain and France transit the strait, which they consider an international waterway, around once a month.
Taiwan also considers it an international waterway but China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, says the strategic waterway belongs to it.
Last week the first U.S. Navy ships transited the strait since President Donald Trump took office last month, drawing an angry reaction from China, which said the mission increased security risks.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said China had responded to those sailings by carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols.”
“The Taiwan Strait is absolutely not within the scope of China’s sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement.
