China tracks Dutch frigate through Taiwan Strait
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- PLA Eastern Theatre Command said on June 5 it dispatched naval and air assets to track and monitor Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter transiting the Taiwan Strait, claiming it handled the situation "effectively."
- The Netherlands said the warship was sailing through the South China Sea for diplomatic, security, and economic reasons and was operating in accordance with international law.
- Beijing had previously accused the same frigate of illegally intruding into the Paracel Islands archipelago in the disputed South China Sea, where the PLA said it had been active since May 27.
- PLA ETC spokesperson Xu Chenghua declared forces "will stay on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability."
- China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan and views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters, framing the transit as a sovereignty issue rather than a freedom-of-navigation passage.
Why it matters: The Netherlands frames the transit as lawful freedom of navigation under international law while China treats the strait as territorial waters — that legal collision turns a routine warship passage into a sovereignty standoff. With the same frigate drawing two Chinese objections in a week (Paracels, then the strait), Beijing is signaling that European naval moves in its near seas will draw the same response as US operations.
