The Globe And Mail
Date: June 20, 2019
By: Nathan Vanderklippe, Asia Correspondent

Canada has sailed a frigate through the Taiwan Strait in what officials in Taipei called a freedom of navigation operation, the first since the arrest of a Huawei executive set off a deepening dispute between Ottawa and Beijing.

The HMCS Regina, one Canada’s 12 frigates, sailed through the waters between Taiwan and China on Tuesday. It was accompanied by Naval Replenishment Unit Asterix.

The two ships sailed from Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, where they made their first-ever call on a naval base there.

“The most practical route between Cam Ranh Bay and Northeast Asia involves sailing through the Taiwan Strait,” Jessica Lamirande, spokesperson for Canada’s Department of National Defence, said in a statement. “Transit through the Taiwan Strait is not related to making any statement.”
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