to participate in the celebrations for the opening of the Kiel Canal. The squadron called on the port of Brest, France on the way, and stopped in Portsmouth on the return voyage. In February 1897, Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia joined the International Squadron, a multinational force made up of ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, French Navy, Imperial German Navy, Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina), Imperial Russian Navy, and Royal Navy that intervened in the 1897-1898 Greek uprising on Crete against rule by the Ottoman Empire; the Austro-Hungarian force was the third-largest contingent after those of the Italians and the British. The squadron operated until December 1898, but the Austro-Hungarians and Germans were dissatisfied with the compromise worked out for the settlement of the conflict on Crete, and so they withdrew their contingents early, Germany in November 1897 and Austria-Hungary in March 1898. In 1898, Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia was dispatched to Cuba during the Spanish–American War, to evacuate Austrian and German nationals in the city of Santiago. The ship arrived off Santiago on 3 July, the day the Spanish admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete attempted to break out of the harbor, through the American blockade. The American auxiliary vessel spotted Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia approaching US Army transports off Siboney and Daiquirí. Resolute informed the battleship about a "Spanish battleship" attacking the army ships, after which Indiana steamed to engage the supposed Spanish warship. After closing to , Indianas captain identified Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia shortly before his gunners would have opened fire. The Austrian cruiser had similar run-ins with other vessels of the American fleet as it sought permission from the American commander to perform its evacuation. After inspecting her, Admiral William T. Sampson, the American commander, permitted the Austrian cruiser to enter the harbor for her mission. After picking up the evacuees, Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia went to Port Royal, Jamaica, and remained in the Caribbean until the end of the war. On 9 May, she departed, bound for Pola, and arrived on 9 December. Over the winter of 1898–1899, the ship served in the winter training squadron along with the battleship . As anti-foreign violence began to rise in China in early 1900, the Great Powers began to send warships to the Far East to increase the pressure on the Chinese government to rein in the violence. At the peak of the