Shocking moment a Chinese warship comes within 500 feet of US destroyer in Taiwan Strait
This is the shocking moment when a Chinese warship comes within 500 feet of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, just days after the Pentagon said it would not stand for “bullying” by Beijing.
Footage obtained by Global News shows a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship slashing the bow of a US guided-missile destroyer as it passed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
USS Chung Hoon and HMCS Montreal were also across the strait on a rare joint mission when a PLAN warhsip sliced through Chung-Hoon’s bow.
According to Global News, the Chinese warship set course to cut through the destroyer and was advised by radio from the American crew to alter course.
The commander of HMCS Montreal told Global News he believes the incident was “clearly caused by the Chinese.”
The USS Chung Hoon, pictured here, and the HMCS Montreal were on a mission across the strait when a PLAN warship sliced through Chung-Hoon’s bow.
The UUS Chung-Hoon, pictured here in 2014 passing ceremonies marking the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Three military boats of the amphibious reconnaissance and patrol unit of Taiwan patrol the Matsu Islands on April 9, 2023
While US warships pass through the strait about once a month, it is unusual for them to do so with those of other US allies.
The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Chung-Hoon and Canada’s HMCS Montreal conducted a “routine” crossing of the strait on Saturday “through waters where freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas applies in accordance with international straight’.
In a statement, the Navy said: “The bilateral transit of Chung-Hoon and Montreal through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said its forces were monitoring the ships all the time and “handling” the situation in accordance with the law and regulations.
They said, “The countries involved deliberately create incidents in the Taiwan Strait region, deliberately provoke risk, maliciously undermine regional peace and stability, and send the wrong signal to the ‘Taiwanese independence forces’.”
The mission took place as US and Chinese defense chiefs attended a major regional security summit in Singapore.
At that event, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chided China for refusing to hold military talks, leaving the superpowers deadlocked over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Ties between the world’s two largest economies are strained over issues ranging from the human rights record in Taiwan and China to military activity in the South China Sea.
A cargo ship sails in the Taiwan Strait as tourists watch from a lighthouse on Pingtan Island, the point in China closest to Taiwan
The HMCS Montreal, pictured here in January 2022, operated in the Straits with the US on a joint mission
US Defense Secretary Austin also vowed this week that Washington would not stand for “coercion and bullying.”
He said, “To be clear, we are not looking for conflict or confrontation.
“But we don’t shy away from bullying or coercion.”
The US has expanded its own operations around the Indo-Pacific to counter sweeping territorial claims by China, including frequent transits and flights across the Taiwan Strait and into the South China Sea.
Austin continued, “We are committed to ensuring that every country can fly, sail and operate where international law allows.
“And every country, big or small, must remain free to engage in legal maritime activities.”
In Singapore, Chinese Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng accused Austin of “overtly or covertly making false accusations against China” in his speech.
Speaking to reporters after Mr Austin spoke, Mr Jing claimed that the US is “cheating and exploiting” countries in Asia and the Pacific to advance its own interests and maintain “its dominant position” in the region.
Mr Jing, who did not answer questions, said that “China, on the other hand, is committed to the development and prosperity of the region”.
It comes after the Pentagon criticized China for allowing a pilot to fly a US military surveillance plane.
The US command for the Indo-Pacific said the Chinese J-16 aircraft flew in front of the US RC-135 aircraft earlier last month, forcing it to fly through its wake turbulence.
In December, a Chinese military plane came within 10 feet of a U.S. Air Force plane, forcing it to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace.
The clip released by the US Indo-Pacific Command shows a view from the cockpit of the US aircraft.
The Chinese jet approaches the RC-135 and buzzes with it as the cockpit vibrates visibly as the pilots then watch it fly out of sight.