CTV National News is on board HMCS Ottawa, embedded with Canadian Navy personnel and currently documenting their work in the East China Sea – a region where China is increasingly flexing its maritime muscle. This is the first of a series of dispatches from the ship.
Shortly after HMCS Ottawa transitioned from shore to sea, the Canadian crew on board quickly learned their ship was being closely watched.
Less than 12 hours after leaving the south of Japan, a Chinese warship appeared on radar. Then, it emerged with the sun along the horizon. The large vessel then made its way closer to the Canadian warship.
We soon learned that the vessel shadowing the Canadian Navy’s every move is called the Binzhou, a Chinese Navy-guided missile warship.
HMCS Ottawa had just slipped from its port in the southern city of Sasebo, Japan towards the open waters of the East China Sea …