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Beijing monitors Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba’s passage through Taiwan Strait

The Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday and Saturday, monitored closely by the People’s Liberation Army, which remained on alert throughout the transit, according to a mainland Chinese media report.

The Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, reported the vessel’s passage on Saturday, citing a Chinese military source.

Taiwan’s Liberty News reported that the frigate was spotted on Friday in the strait west of Penghu Island near the strait’s median line – an unofficial boundary in the waters between the mainland and Taiwan.

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“[The Toowoomba’s] shipborne helicopter approached the median line of the strait in the afternoon, and the Taiwan military immediately issued a radio warning to drive it away,” the report said.

The transit drew criticism from military enthusiasts on mainland Chinese social media.

“Australian naval vessels remain very active around China, including in the South China Sea … Chinese warships should also patrol around Australia and increase the frequency of such operations,” a social media user with 300,000 followers posted on Friday, citing Taiwanese media reports.

A day earlier, the Australian Department of Defence said the Toowoomba, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, had “conducted a routine transit through the South China Sea in accordance with international law”.

“These deployments play a vital role in our long-term security and prosperity by protecting Australia’s interests, preserving the international rules-based order, enhancing cooperation and relationships with regional partners and allies, and developing capability and interoperability,” the department said.

Social Media Asia Editor