‘Unsafe interaction’: US slams Chinese warship’s risky manoeuvre near Taiwan

The United States Navy has released a video showing how a Chinese warship nearly rammed into one of its destroyers in the Taiwan Strait last week. The US Navy has described the risky incident as an “unsafe interaction” in the Taiwan Strait, reported Reuters.

While speaking at a recent presser, the Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson has accused the US of “causing trouble and provocation first.”

“The measures taken by the Chinese military are completely reasonable, legitimate, and professional and safe. The US had caused trouble and provocation first, while China dealt with it in accordance with the law and regulations afterwards,” Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Meanwhile, the astonishing video of the incident has gone viral on Twitter. In the video, Chinese navy’s Luyang III can be seen overtaking a US Navy destroyer on its port side and then cutting sharply across the path of the American ship. The US destroyer on its part had slowed down to avoid a collision. Subsequently, the Chinese guided-missile destroyer straightened up and continued on a parallel course. It is worth noting that the US Navy ship did not change course.

The #USNavy released a new video of the #PLA Navy destroyer cutting in front of the bow of the USS Chung-Hoon at high speed during a #TaiwanStrait transit.pic.twitter.com/ip3upqXZVs

— Indo-Pacific News – Geo-Politics & Military News (@IndoPac_Info) June 5, 2023

According to a report by Al Jazeera, the US Indo-Pacific Command has contended that the actions of the Chinese Navy violated maritime rules of safe passage in international waters.

Reportedly, US Navy’s USS Chung-Hoon and Canada’s HSMC Montreal were conducting a transit of the strait when the Chinese Navy ship performed the risky manoeuvre.

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

Interestingly, the Chinese Navy ship did not attempt a similar manoeuvre on the Canadian ship, which was sailing behind the USS Chung-Hoon.

This is not the first such encounter amid deteriorating Sino-US ties.

On May 26, a Chinese fighter jet had carried out an aggressive manoeuvre near a US military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace.

It can be said that the relations between China and the US are in a freefall due to disagreements between the two powers over everything from trade and Taiwan to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The issue of Taiwan in particular raises the dangerous spectre of future face-offs between the two military powers that could spiral out of control.