Chinese military monitors US and Canadian warships in Taiwan Strait

The Chinese military followed and monitored two warships of the United States and Canada that sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a spokesman said on Saturday night.

The destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Montreal passed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, and deliberately and publicly hyped its actions, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command.

The command organized naval and air forces to follow and monitor the movements of the warships, and responded in accordance with law and regulations, he said in a statement.

The spokesman criticized the two countries for "deliberately stirring up trouble and risks" in the Taiwan Strait, maliciously undermining regional peace and stability, and sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces.

The PLA will always be on high alert, take all necessary measures to resolutely respond to all threats and provocations, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty security and regional peace and stability, he warned.

On Saturday morning, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore that the US opposes unilateral changes to the status quo of the Taiwan Strait.

Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of the Central Military Commission's Joint Staff Department, rebutted his remarks, saying it is not China but the US and the "Taiwan independence" separatists that have changed the status quo of the Taiwan Strait.

He accused the US side of "repeatedly hollowing out the one-China principle" by frequently sending warships and warplanes through the Taiwan Strait, and meddling in the Taiwan question.