Beijing accuses Washington of “provocation” and guarantees that it acted “in accordance with laws and regulations”.
Two warships, one American and one Chinese, nearly collided in the Taiwan Strait. According to the US Navy, the incident happened this Sunday when the USS Chung-Hoon, a US warship, was engaged in a joint exercise with a Canadian ship when it was surprised by a Chinese vessel. The Chinese ship would have passed in front of the American ship, forcing it to slow down to avoid a collision.
Quoted in a report CNN, the US Naval Command in the Indo-Pacific accused the Chinese vessel of acting “unsafely” and “violating maritime rules in international waters”. A report team from a Canadian television station Global NewsA passenger on the HMCS Montreal accompanying the USS Chung-Hoon managed to capture the moment on video.
“Friction” continues at sea and at sea for the Chinese and Americans. “. according to (https://t.co/5yWrLiyYPY) Canadian Global News reported that during the transition, a Chinese vessel (which appears to be a destroyer pr.052D) requested a change of course. The… pic.twitter.com/0cO7WnlKYQ
— AUC3I (@AUC31) June 3, 2023
However, the People’s Liberation Army Ground Forces released a statement arguing that the Chinese military “acted in accordance with laws and regulations” and accusing “related countries” of “deliberately causing trouble in the Taiwan Strait” and “harming regional peace.” and sending the wrong signals to stability and ‘Taiwan independence’ forces”.
Later, the Chinese Defense Minister, who participated in the ongoing Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, accused the US of trying to destabilize the Indo-Pacific region.
“They didn’t come here innocent. They came here to provoke,” Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security conference in Singapore.
A day after the US defense secretary warned of the risks of escalating tensions in Taiwan, the Chinese minister warned that any “serious conflict” between Washington and Beijing would be an “unbearable disaster for the world”. In Li Changfu’s words, if the US and other powers really do not want to clash with China, they should not station military assets near Chinese territory.
“Mind your own business. Why are all these incidents happening in areas near China and not in other countries?”, he questioned.
This is the second time in two weeks that Chinese and US militaries have engaged in aggressive maneuvers near the Taiwan Strait. Last week, the US condemned an “unnecessary aggressive maneuver” by a Chinese fighter jet against a US spy plane RC-135 in the skies over the South China Sea.