Raging China slams Britain after Royal Navy warship sails through Taiwan Strait in defiant message to Xi
CHINA has slammed the UK after a Royal Navy warship cruised through the Taiwan Strait in a defiant message to Xi Jinping.
Beijing blasted HMS Spey's patrol through the passage, branding it a disruptive act of "intentional provocation" that "undermines peace and stability".
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HMS Spey, pictured in 2021, cruised through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday
Credit: Alamy
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The UK warship transit was a defiant message to Chinese President Xi Jinping
Credit: Alamy
5
The British Royal Navy said the route was part of a long-planned deployment and in accordance with international law.
The bold patrol was the first by a
A Chinese navy spokesperson hit back at HMS Spey's route, and blasted the UK for "publicly hyping up" the journey.
They added the UK's claims were "a distortion of legal principles and an attempt to mislead the public".
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And in a
Meanwhile, Taiwan praised the patrol as an act that safeguarded the freedom of navigation in the highly disputed strait.
US warships regularly conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the strait.
But the last time a British naval vessel made a journey like this was in 2021 when HMS Richmond was deployed from Japan to Vietnam.
Most read in The Sun
China, much like this time round, condemned the transit and sent troops to monitor the ship.
HMS Spey is one of two British warships permanently on patrol in the Indo-Pacific region.
China floods sea bases with nuke bombers, terrifying satellite pics show - as US warns Xi could SEIZE Taiwanese islands
China slammed the route as a means of aggression amid the ongoing simmering tension between Taipei and
Beijing
.
Taiwan insists it is an independent nation after splitting from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.
But
The island, which is roughly 100 miles from the coast of south-east China, sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.
Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan and held multiple large-scale exercises around the island, often described as preparations for a blockade or invasion.
China also claims almost the entire disputed waterway in the South China Sea - through which more than 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes.
This is despite an international ruling that Beijing's assertion has no merit.
In April, Xi Jinping launched a
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Taiwan Coast Guard Special Task Unit carrying on preparation drills, pictured on June 8
Credit: Getty
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The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong was seen near to Taiwan during military drills in April
Credit: EPA
Beijing described their concerning movements, which included 19 warships and 50 aircraft, as a "stern warning" and a "powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence".
And in May, satellite pictures showed that China had deployed its most dangerous nuke bombers to a tiny but vital island sea base.
Aerial photos showed two hulking H-6 bombers on an airfield on Woody Island in the South China Sea, taken on May 19.
Taiwan's economy is another factor in China's desperation to reclaim the land.
If China takes the island, it could be freer to project power in the western Pacific and rival the US, thanks to much of the world's electronics being made in Taiwan.
This would allow Beijing to have control over an industry that drives the global economy.
China insists that its intentions are peaceful, but President
In this years New Year's address, President Xi even said that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family.
He has previously called the independence of Taiwan a futile effort and that annexation by Beijing is a "historical inevitability".
It comes as a UK carrier strike group arrives in the Indo-Pacific region as part of Operation Highmast which is set to last several months.
Keir Starmer said it was aimed at "sending a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies".
Total blockade, air blitz & island grab… Three ways China could seize Taiwan
By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
WITH an overwhelming military force, advanced warfare techniques and a fragmenting West, Xi Jinping will likely feel more confident than ever to seize Taiwan, experts warn.
And if China does decide to attack, it's feared it will go in with "full force" using three major military strategies that would wreak havoc on the island.
Defence experts say it's the
with the Chinese mainland - and it could launch an attack as soon as 2027.
Professor Ashok Swain, a peace and security expert at Uppsala University in
Sweden
, says that China could look to attack
Taiwan
with full force.
He said: "The global politics has changed dramatically in the last couple of months... the way Ukraine is being handled by the United States gives a certain comfort level to Xi.
"It is the perfect moment for China to attack Taiwan if it plans to do so."
Swain suggests they could invade through a devastating air blitz to disable Taiwan's defences as naval forces also encircle the island.
This coordinated approach would aim to prevent Taiwan's forces from mounting an effective response and limit the time available for Western intervention, the expert argues.
China could also seize all or some of the islands surrounding Taiwan's mainland to gauge a reaction from the West.
Any response short of military support would embolden Xi to go further - like Putin annexing Crimea in 2014.
The third attack route could be a total blockade.
Military experts say China will start with an ever-tightening squeeze on Taiwan using naval blockades around the island - something very similar to the war drills Beijing has been conducting for years.
An effective sea and air blockade would halt valuable exports and cut off help from the US and Japan.
The island could be crippled financially, economically and operationally if Beijing extended military exercises for a longer period.
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