The Chinese military announced Friday that it had monitored and tracked a British warship - identified as the HMS Spey (P234) - during its passage through the Taiwan Strait last Wednesday. Beijing, which considers the waterway its internal territory, condemned the move as "undermining regional peace and stability."

In a statement carried by the Xinhua News Agency, Senior Colonel Liu Rongke, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said:
"Our command organized naval and air forces to follow and warn the British vessel throughout its transit, handling the situation professionally and effectively."

The Royal Navy's offshore patrol vessel completed what Britain considers a routine freedom of navigation operation in international waters. China has repeatedly warned against such passages through the 180-kilometer-wide strait separating mainland China from Taiwan.