UK Navy frigate HMS Richmond reaches Taiwan Strait, China cites 'insidious intention'

The British Royal Navy’s frigate Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Richmond on Friday, October 1, reached Vietnam through the Taiwan Strait. Taking to Twitter, the UK embassy in Hanoi shared pictures of HMS Richmond arriving at Cam Ranh Bay. In the caption, it said that HMS Richmond’s presence in Vietnam underlines UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific. It added that the frigate, which is on a four-day visit, will now conduct bilateral cooperation activities. 

China condemns HMS' passage through Taiwan Strait 

HMS Richmond’s arrival to Taiwan has, however, irked China. Beijing has condemned the vessel’s passage through the Taiwan Strait as a “meaningless display of presence with an insidious intention”. However, the United Kingdom’s vessel made it clear that Taiwan Strait is part of international waters and the free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

HMS Richmond even broadcasted its location while passing through the strait. The move had provoked China, which dispatched military units to follow and monitor the frigate’s passage. The UK, on the other hand, deployed two patrol vessels to the Indo-Pacific on a five-year mission in a bid to bolster Britain’s presence in the region. Earlier, UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace had said that Britain had a “duty” to insist on freedom of navigation. The Royal Navy ships will not have a permanent base, a spokesperson at the British embassy in Tokyo said when asked which ports the two Royal Navy ships would operate from. 

Meanwhile, tensions have been building in the region, with many countries accusing Beijing of using the resource-rich waterway to intimidate them. Chinese air and sea patrols have been warning ships away from the area, which Beijing believes to be part of its own territorial seas. However, five other governments claim all or part of the sea, through which approximately $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year. China’s increasing assertiveness, especially in the South China Sea, where China and Vietnam have overlapping claims, has also led Hanoi to expand its military and strategic corporation with other nations. 

(With inputs from ANI)