The US Indo-Pacific Command says a Chinese naval vessel performed ‘unsafe’ maneuvers near a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait.
The United States has accused the Chinese navy of conducting “unsafe” maneuvers near a US destroyer passing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
Saturday’s incident was the second encounter between the US and Chinese militaries in the Asia-Pacific region in less than 10 days.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the Chinese ship “maneuvered in an unsafe manner near Chung-Hoon,” a US destroyer, during Saturday’s transit.
The Chinese vessel “overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bows at 150 yards [137 metres]. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 [knots] to avoid a collision,” the statement said.
It then “crossed Chung-Hoon’s bow a second time from starboard to port at 2,000 yards (1,828 meters) and continued ahead of Chung-Hoon’s bow”, coming within 500 feet of the nearest point, according to the US military.
It added 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 rare joint mission through the narrow waterway that separates self-governing Taiwan from China.
The Chinese military said it had tracked the passage, but did not report a close encounter.
“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 ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” it said late Saturday.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the two ships were heading north through the strait and had not seen anything unusual.
American warships regularly pass through the strait.
The last joint passage between the US and Canada was in September 2022.
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.
The encounter with the ship in the Taiwan Strait followed what the U.S. military characterized as a risky maneuver by a Chinese jet flying “directly 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 “.