The People’s Liberation Army said on Friday that it had tracked and monitored a Dutch warship during its passage through the Taiwan Strait, days after using electronic interference during a confrontation with the same vessel in the South China Sea.
The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command said on social media that in less than two weeks, the shipborne helicopter of the Dutch frigate De Ruyter had “illegally intruded into the airspace over China’s Xisha [the Chinese name for the Paracel Islands] and then the frigate transited the Taiwan Strait”.
Senior Colonel Xu Chenghua, a spokesman for the theatre command, said the military “would stay on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability”.
He added that naval and air forces “handled the situation effectively”, without giving details. The post included two pictures of the Dutch warship, one of which also showed the helicopter.
The Netherlands said the warship was sailing through the region for diplomatic, security and economic reasons and was operating in accordance with international law, according to Reuters.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to reunite it with the mainland.
The Netherlands, in common with most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.
The contested Paracel Islands lie just over 300km (190 miles) from the Chinese island province of Hainan.
Beijing claims sovereignty over wide areas of the resource-rich South China Sea, but its claims overlap with those of several Southeast Asian nations, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.
In April, the Dutch defence ministry said the De Ruyter, an air defence and command frigate, would spend five months in the Indo-Pacific to take part in international operations and exercises with allies.
The vessel has a crew of around 200 and is equipped with an advanced NH90 naval helicopter.
Last month, the warship stopped in Manila, where it took part in joint drills with the Philippine navy, including communication exercises and manoeuvres, according to the official Philippine News Agency.
In late May, the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, accused the frigate of “illegally entering” waters near the Paracel Islands and repeatedly sending a helicopter into Chinese airspace.
It said air and naval forces had issued verbal warnings and used unspecified electronic “countermeasures [to] drive the aircraft away”.
It was the first time that the Chinese military claimed that it had used “electronic countermeasures” against foreign ships or warplanes in disputed waters. The Paracels are also claimed by Vietnam, which calls them the Hoang Sa Islands.
Military analysts said it was a serious warning and similar methods could be used in the future.