US military officials said a Chinese warship came within 150 yards (137 metres) of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait in an “unsafe manner”, while China accused the US of “deliberately raising risks” in the area.
On Saturday, the US and Canadian navies conducted joint exercises in the strait separating the island of Taiwan and China, when the Chinese ship cut in front of the US destroyer Chong Hun. force it to slow down The US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement to avoid collision.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has claimed autonomous Taiwan as its territory since the defeated ROC government fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to the communist Mao Zedong. Taiwan’s government says the People’s Republic of China never ruled the island, and US President Joe Biden has said the US will defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
The Chinese military chided the United States and Canada for “deliberately raising risks” after the two countries’ fleets carried out a rare joint sail through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the Chong Hun and Canada’s Montreal were making a “routine” transit of the strait when the Chinese ship clipped in front of the US ship.
The US command said that “the Chinese ship’s closest point of approach was 150 yards and that its actions violated the maritime ‘rules of way’ for safe passage in international waters.”
[1/3] A People’s Republic of China warship, designated by US Indo-Pacific Command as PRC LY 132, crosses the path of US Navy destroyer USS Chung-Hoon as it transits the Taiwan Strait with Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal on June 3, 2023, in a video still. International news…
Video footage broadcast by the Canadian website Global News Show close encounter between ships.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The naval encounter was the latest close call between the Chinese and US militaries. The US Indo-Pacific Command said on Tuesday that a Chinese fighter jet on May 26 carried out an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver near a US military aircraft over the South China Sea in international airspace.
Liu Bingyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, did not comment on the details of the plane incident, but said that the United States “has repeatedly deployed close reconnaissance planes and ships to China, which poses a grave danger to China’s national security.”
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a pre-recorded interview that aired on CNN on Sunday that the United States seeks to maintain a “stable cross-strait dynamic” between China and Taiwan and avoid a conflict that “could end up collapsing.” International Economy “.
Fareed Zakaria GPS was interviewed on CNN on Friday.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Changfu told the top security summit in Asia on Sunday that conflict with the United States would be an “unbearable disaster” but that his country sought dialogue over the confrontation.
(Reporting by Ted Heson) in Washington. Editing by Grant McCall
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