HMS Spey in Taiwan Strait: Why China warned British Navy ship that PLA will 'counter all threats'?

Beijing has expressed displeasure after a British Royal Navy patrol vessel sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a region China claims as its own territory. It was the HMS Spey, one of two British warships permanently deployed in the Indo-Pacific, that patrolled the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, becoming the first British vessel to do so in four years. Taiwan's government has long rejected Beijing's sovereignty claims and says the strait is an international waterway.

While China labelled the presence of the vessel in the contested waters as a disruptive act of "intentional provocation" that "undermines peace and stability", the Royal Navy maintained that the passage "was part of a long-planned deployment and took place in full compliance with international law." The latest passage comes at a time when Britain and China are seeking to mend their relations, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to visit Beijing later this year - the first trip to the country by a British leader since 2018.

China further described the passage as an intentional provocation that undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to BBC. Beijing’s own vessels monitored HMS Spey throughout its transit, a statement reportedly said, adding that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would resolutely counter all threats and provocations.

Meanwhile, the patrolling was welcomed by the Taiwanese authorities with the country's foreign ministry welcoming the "British side once again taking concrete actions to defend the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait".

The last time a British warship sailed through the strait was in 2021 when HMS Richmond was deployed in the East China Sea en route to Vietnam -- only to be followed and warned by the Chinese Navy. U.S. Navy ships sail through the strait around once every two months, sometimes accompanied by allied nations.