Global Courant
A Chinese naval ship maneuvered in an “unsafe manner” near a US destroyer passing through the Taiwan Strait, the US military said Saturday.
Video captured by Canadian news outlet Global News showed the Chinese warship heading at high speed for the USS Chung-Hoon. It came within 500 feet of the US destroyer, US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
It is the second close encounter between US and Chinese military assets in less than 10 days what the US military said last week was an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” by one of Beijing’s fighters near one of Washington’s surveillance planes.
The Chinese ship “maneuvered in an unsafe manner in the vicinity” of the Chung-Hoon, the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a statement.
The Beijing ship “overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 500 feet. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 (knots) to avoid collision,” the statement said.
Cmdr. Kevin Schaeffer (right), commander of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, and Lt. William Stimson, during a transit through the Taiwan Strait on June 3, 2023. / Credit: US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard/U.S. 7th Fleet
It “then crossed Chung-Hoon’s bow a second time starboard to port at 2,000 yards (meters) and remained off Chung-Hoon’s bow,” coming within 500 feet of the closest point, the US military said, adding that the “U.S. military flies, sails, and operates safely and responsibly wherever international law permits.”
The incident occurred as the Chung-Hoon sailed a Canadian warship through the Taiwan Strait in a joint mission through the sensitive waterway that separates self-governing Taiwan from China.
The Chinese military said it had been monitoring the passage, but did not report any close encounter.
“The countries involved are deliberately causing trouble in the Taiwan Strait, deliberately increasing risk and maliciously undermining regional peace and stability,” said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for China’s Eastern Theater Command.
American warships regularly pass through the strait. The last joint passage between the US and Canada was in September 2022.
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The incident occurred when US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, were attending a defense summit in Singapore. The US had invited Li to meet with Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La dialogue, but Beijing declined.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated this year, including over Taiwan and a alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after crossing the US
On Friday, CBS News learned that CIA Director William Burns secretly traveled to Beijing last month to meet with his Chinese intelligence counterparts.
A US official told CBS News that the meeting was intended to “emphasize the importance of open lines of communication in intelligence channels.”
The State Department also said in a statement Saturday that two US officials traveled to Beijing on Sunday to meet with Chinese officials to discuss “important issues in the bilateral relationship.” They were Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Sarah Beran, National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan.
Sunday marks the 34th anniversary of the bloody and ruthless Massacre in Tiananmen Squarein which Chinese soldiers killed hundreds of protesters.
The encounter with the ship in the Taiwan Strait followed what the US military characterized as a risky maneuver by a Chinese jet flying “straight in front of and within 400 feet of the nose” of an RC-135 surveillance aircraft over the Pacific on May 26. South Chinese Ocean.
Beijing blamed the US for “provocation”, with a State Department spokeswoman saying that the “prolonged and frequent sending of ships and aircraft to closely monitor China seriously harms China’s national sovereignty and security “.
China claims Taiwan as its territory – promising to take it one day, by force if necessary – and has increased military and political pressure on the island in recent years.
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