Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey transited the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, 18 June, in a move confirmed by both UK and Taiwanese authorities.
The British Office in Taipei stated that Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, “conducted a navigation of the Taiwan Strait” in accordance with international law and rights provided under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). “Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law and exercises its right to Freedom of Navigation and overflight,” the statement added.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the move, describing it as a reaffirmation of the UK’s commitment to the principle that the Taiwan Strait constitutes international waters. The ministry said Britain had once again “defended freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait with practical actions and demonstrated its firm position that the Taiwan Strait belongs to international waters.”
This marks the first Royal Navy transit of the strait since 2021, when HMS Richmond passed through course from Japan to Vietnam as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group. That transit was met with condemnation from Beijing, which deployed military forces to track and monitor the ship.
China has again condemned the UK’s actions, with its ambassador to the UK stating previously: “I would like to remind the UK side that China’s rights and interests in the South China Sea have been established in the long course of history and have solid and legal basis. The UK’s picking on China by making an issue of the ‘award’ of the South China Sea arbitration, which is illegal, null and void, will not shake China’s firm resolve and staunch will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
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