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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”.
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 Brit naval vessel in four years.
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”.
And in a chilling threat, they said that Chinese troops would respond and “resolutely counter all threats and provocations” made by HMS Spey.
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.
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 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 China claims Taiwan remains a part of its territory with which it must eventually be reunified – and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island and place it under Beijing’s control.
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 fresh round of army, navy and rocket force exercises encircling Taiwan.
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 Xi Jinping has also used threats towards the small island nation.
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 “perfect moment” for Xi’s long-standing ambition to reunify Taiwan 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.
