Video shows China ship’s ‘unsafe’ maneuver with US destroyer in Taiwan Strait

By 

Caitlin Doornbos

June 5, 2023 

A video released by the US Navy shows a Chinese ship cutting across the path of the USS Chung-Hoon in the Taiwan Strait.

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard/U.S. Navy via AP

WASHINGTON – The US Navy released a damning video Monday of a Chinese warship deliberately cutting across the path of a US guided-missile destroyer in the Taiwan Strait in a move Washington deemed “unsafe.”

In the 30-second clip, a Chinese guided-missile destroyer cuts ahead of the USS Chung-Hoon and Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal as they were sailing through the 100-mile-wide channel, which separates mainland China from the island of Taiwan.

The Chinese ship then cuts diagonally from the American ship’s port side, roughly 150 yards away from the Chung-Hoon’s bow, US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said in a statement.

The US ship maintained its course, but was forced to slow down to roughly 10 knots “to avoid a collision,” according to the military.

America and its allies consider the contentious Taiwan Strait to be international waters, while China views it – like Taiwan itself – as part of its own territory.

Beijing has made absorption of the democratic, self-governed island its No. 1 priority. While the United States acknowledges that China considers Taiwan its own territory, Washington considers the island’s sovereignty status unsettled.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the maneuver was was done “in accordance with the law.”

via REUTERS

“Chung-Hoon and Montreal’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the combined U.S.-Canadian commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” INDOPACOM said. “The U.S. military flies, sails, and operates safely and responsibly anywhere international law allows.”

While the US side called the Chinese ship’s maneuver “unsafe,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin defended the action, claiming that it was done “in accordance with the law.”

“China’s military actions are completely justified, lawful, safe and professional,” Wang told reporters during a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday. “It is the U.S. that should deeply reflect upon itself and correct the wrongdoings.”

USS Chung-Hoon sailing alongside the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal during a drill in the South China Sea on May 30, 2023.

U.S. Navy/Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 1st Class Dalton Cooper/Handout via REUTERS

But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday said the action was “part of a growing aggressiveness” shown by the People’s Liberation Army Navy in both the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

“When you have pieces of metal that are operating that close together, it wouldn’t take much for an error in judgement or a mistake to get made and somebody could get hurt,” said Kirby, a retired admiral. “150 yards – speaking as an old sailor myself, that’s pretty close.”

https://nypost.com/2023/06/05/video-shows-china-ships-unsafe-maneuver-with-us-destroyer/