Canada has a navy ship near China. Here's what it's like on board

CTV National News is on board the HMCS Ottawa, embedded with Canadian Navy personnel and currently documenting their work in the East China Sea – a region where China is increasingly flexing its maritime muscle. This is the first of a series of dispatches from the ship.

CTV National News is on board HMCS Ottawa, embedded with Canadian Navy personnel and currently documenting their work in the East China Sea – a region where China is increasingly flexing its maritime muscle. This is the first of a series of dispatches from the ship.

Shortly after HMCS Ottawa transitioned from shore to sea, the Canadian crew on board quickly learned their ship was being closely watched.

Less than 12 hours after leaving the south of Japan, a Chinese warship appeared on radar. Then, it emerged with the sun along the horizon. The large vessel then made its way closer to the Canadian warship.

We soon learned that the vessel shadowing the Canadian Navy’s every move is called the Binzhou, a Chinese Navy-guided missile warship.

HMCS Ottawa had just slipped from its port in the southern city of Sasebo, Japan towards the open waters of the East China Sea in the Royal Canadian Navy's first international deployment of 2025.

Armed navy officers surveyed the open waters. Commanding Officer Adriano Lozer was expecting the company of a Chinese warship while on this deployment.

“That (Chinese) vessel basically asked us a question, who are you? Where are you going? We let them know who we are and let them know that we're operating in international waters in accordance with international law,” said Commander Lozer.