UK, Japan Warships Trigger China Response in Strait

The British Royal Navy's HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait, marking the UK's first such transit in four years and drawing sharp condemnation from China, which labeled the move as 'deliberate troublemaking' and an 'intentional provocation.' China, claiming the strait as its own territory, monitored the Spey with its military and subsequently increased air and naval activities near Taiwan. The UK maintained that the operation was routine and in line with international law. Taiwan welcomed the transit as support for freedom of navigation and reiterated the strait's status as international waters. A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer also recently transited the strait, highlighting a pattern of increased allied naval activity. These actions underscore heightened tensions and strategic signaling in the Indo-Pacific amid disputes over maritime rights and sovereignty.