Beijing: A Canadian and an Australian warship transited the Taiwan Strait on Friday in a coordinated passage that immediately drew the attention of China’s military, which claimed to have maintained full surveillance and control of the situation. The move adds yet another layer to the delicate and tense environment in the Indo-Pacific, where the Taiwan Strait continues to serve as a focal point of strategic rivalry between China and Western-aligned powers.
According to Chinese state media reports, the Royal Canadian Navy frigate Ville de Québec and the Royal Australian Navy destroyer Brisbane sailed north to south through the strait. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced that its naval and aerial forces tracked the ships closely, emphasizing that “the situation remained under control at all times.” The operation marks one of the rare joint transits by Canada and Australia, both of which have increasingly asserted their role in Indo-Pacific security alongside the United States and its allies.
Neither the Canadian nor Australian defense ministries have issued immediate statements about the passage, and Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also declined to comment. Silence from the participating militaries, however, contrasts sharply with Beijing’s vocal assertions, underscoring the highly charged atmosphere surrounding such freedom of navigation operations. The Taiwan Strait, regarded by Western nations and Taiwan as international waters, is a maritime corridor through which about half of the world’s container fleet passes each year. China, however, disputes this classification, insisting the waterway falls within its territorial jurisdiction.
Friday’s transit is the latest in a growing number of similar missions. Western navies, particularly the United States, have made repeated passages to challenge Beijing’s expansive claims, drawing both protests and military shadowing by the PLA. Canada has previously dispatched frigates through the strait, often sailing in tandem with U.S. vessels, while Australia has recently intensified its naval activity in the region as part of its wider Indo-Pacific security commitments.
The timing of the operation is significant. It comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, with Beijing ramping up its military exercises around Taiwan and warning against what it describes as foreign interference. Western powers, meanwhile, frame these operations as necessary to uphold international law and ensure that no single nation can unilaterally alter the balance of power in a region central to global trade and security.
For Ottawa and Canberra, the transit demonstrates both solidarity with regional partners and a reaffirmation of their commitment to maintaining open sea lanes. It also reflects a broader pattern of allied coordination, in which middle powers like Canada and Australia take on more visible roles in countering authoritarian assertiveness. For Beijing, however, such missions are seen as deliberate provocations and as infringements on its sovereignty.
As the Indo-Pacific grows increasingly polarized, each transit of the Taiwan Strait carries risks of escalation. While the latest passage by Canadian and Australian warships did not lead to confrontation, the competing narratives and claims surrounding the strait ensure that the waterway will remain a flashpoint. With China’s navy expanding at unprecedented speed and Western allies intensifying patrols, the Taiwan Strait is set to remain one of the most closely watched maritime chokepoints in the world.