Chinese ship maneuvered in 'unsafe manner' near US destroyer in Taiwan Strait, military says

A Chinese Navy ship maneuvered in an “unsafe manner” near a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, according to the U.S. military.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on Saturday that guided-missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting “a routine south to north” transit of the Taiwan Strait “through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply." 

During the transit, the Chinese ship “executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon,” the Indo-Pacific Command said, overtaking the U.S. destroyer on one side, crossing its bow and prompting the vessel to slow to avoid a collision. 

“The LY 132’s closest point of approach was 150 yards and its actions violated the maritime ‘Rules of the Road’ of safe passage in international waters,” U.S. military officials asserted.

China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, appeared to defend the Chinese ship’s moves in remarks to the Shangri-La Dialogue, a meeting of defense officials, saying “we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation,” as reported by the Associated Press. 

A spokesperson for the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command also suggested after the incident that some countries have been provocative in the Taiwan Strait, as China stresses its stance against Taiwan independence. 

"To be clear: we do not seek conflict or confrontation," said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to the Shangri-La Dialogue. "But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.

He noted that China “continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace” and pledged that the U.S. will support allies in the region "as they defend themselves against coercion and bullying."