《TAIPEI TIMES》 Canadian warship passes through Strait
The HMCS Charlottetown is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Screen grab from HMCS Charlottetown - NCSM Charlottetown’s Facebook page
By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA
A Canadian warship last week transited the Taiwan Strait shortly before Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s （王毅） scheduled visit to Canada, the Canadian Department of National Defense said on Thursday.
“On May 22, 2026, HMCS Charlottetown conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait, which was completed on May 23, 2026,” department spokeswoman Andree-Anne Poulin was quoted as saying by the Globe and Mail.
The warship was not accompanied by any allied countries’ ships, the department said.
Wang arrived in Ottawa on Thursday for a three-day visit. It is the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Canada in a decade, as the countries seek to expand bilateral cooperation and trade amid rising US protectionism, and tariff pressure, the report said.
Chinese Ambassador to Canada Wang Di （王鏑） said in an interview with the Globe and Mail last month that if Canada continues sending warships through the Taiwan Strait, or Canadian lawmakers continue visiting Taiwan and meeting with its government, it could damage the new partnership between Beijing and Ottawa.
While Canada is seeking to expand exports and attract foreign investment, with China seen as a key market, Canadian Minister of National Defense David McGuinty said earlier this month that Canada views the Taiwan Strait as international waters, the report said.
“International waters” refers to the concept under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that straits used for international navigation are subject to transit passage rights, allowing warships to pass through freely without needing prior approval from coastal states, it said.
Canadian MP Michael Chong （莊文浩）, who earlier this month traveled to Taiwan and met with President William Lai （賴清德）, welcomed the Canadian warship’s transit, it said.
“I think the government had to signal that it wasn’t going to comply with Beijing’s unreasonable demand,” Chong was quoted as saying.
From 2018 until former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau stepped down last year, Canadian warships transited the Taiwan Strait 11 times, despite objections from Beijing, the report said.
The most recent passage marks the second time a Canadian ship has gone through the Strait under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration, with a frigate making a previous trip in September last year along, with an Australian destroyer, it said.
China yesterday said it firmly opposes any attempt by any country to undermine its sovereignty and security “under the pretext of freedom of navigation,” in response to a Canadian warship passing through the Taiwan Strait.
Additional reporting by Reuters
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES