This is the stunning moment a Chinese warship comes within 150 yards of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, just days after the Pentagon said it would not tolerate “bullying from Beijing.
Footage obtained by Global News shows a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship clipping the bow of a US guided missile destroyer on Saturday as it transited the Taiwan Strait.
USS Chung Hoon and HMCS Montreal had also transited the strait on a rare joint mission when a PLAN warhsip passed through Chung-Hoon’s bow.
According to Global News, the Chinese warship followed a course to cut through the destroyer and had been radioed by the US crew to alter its course.
The commanding officer of HMCS Montreal told Global News he believed the incident was “clearly caused by the Chinese”.
The USS Chung Hoon, pictured here, and HMCS Montreal had been transiting the strait on a mission when a PLAN warship broke through Chung-Hoon’s bow.
UUS Chung-Hoon, pictured here in 2014 as it passes ceremonies honoring the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Three military boats from the Taiwan Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit 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 Canadian HMCS Montreal made a “routine” transit of the strait on Saturday “through waters where freedoms of navigation and overflight on the high seas apply in accordance to international law”.
In a statement, the Navy: “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 Eastern Theater Command said its forces were monitoring the vessels throughout and “handling” the situation in accordance with law and regulations.
They said: “The relevant countries deliberately create incidents in the Taiwan Strait area, deliberately cause hazards, maliciously undermine regional peace and stability, and send the wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces. .”
The mission took place as US and Chinese defense chiefs were attending a major regional security summit in Singapore.
At the event, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chastised 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 Taiwan and China’s human rights record to military activity in the South China Sea.
A freighter sails through the Taiwan Strait as tourists watch from a lighthouse on Pingtan Island, the closest point to Taiwan in China
HMCS Montreal, pictured here in January 2022, had operated in the strait with the United States as part of a joint mission
US Secretary of Defense Austin also pledged this week that Washington would not tolerate “coercion and intimidation”.
He said: “To be clear, we are not looking for conflict or confrontation.
“But we will not flinch in the face of intimidation or coercion.”
The United States has expanded its own activities around the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s sweeping territorial claims, including regularly sailing and overflying the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Austin continued: “We are committed to ensuring that every country can fly, navigate and operate wherever international law permits.
“And every country, big or small, must remain free to conduct lawful maritime activities.”
In Singapore, Chinese Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng accused Austin of “openly or covertly making false accusations against China” in his speech.
Speaking to reporters after Mr Austin’s speech, Mr Jing alleged that the United States had ‘deceived and exploited’ Asia-Pacific countries to advance its own interests in order to preserve ‘its dominant position’. In the region.
Mr. Jing, who did not respond to questions, said that by contrast, “China is committed to the development and prosperity of the region.”
It comes after the Pentagon slammed China for letting a pilot fly ahead of a US military surveillance plane.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the Chinese J-16 aircraft flew past the nose of the US RC-135 aircraft early last month and forced it through its wake turbulence.
In December, a Chinese military aircraft approached within 10 feet of a US Air Force plane and forced it to perform evasive maneuvers to avoid an airspace collision international.
The clip released by US Indo-Pacific Command shows a view from the cockpit of the US aircraft.
The Chinese jet is seen approaching the RC-135 and buzzing it with the cockpit visibly shaking as the pilots watch it fly out of sight.
