Taiwan has detected 24 Chinese military aircraft near the island as a Canadian warship passed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence says.
The Chinese aircraft included fighter jets and drones and were spotted on Sunday carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols” with military vessels around Taiwan, the ministry said in a statement.
China’s military radioed the Canadian frigate transiting through the Taiwan Strait and warned it to change course, Taiwan media reported.
The Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa was the first Canadian naval vessel to transit the waterway this year, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Its transit came days after two United States ships, a naval destroyer and survey ship, made the passage.
The US and its allies regularly pass through the 180km (112-mile) Taiwan Strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.
The US destroyer and ocean survey ship travelled through the strait starting on …