The US Army on Monday released a video showing China’s dangerous maneuver in the Taiwan Strait, in which a Chinese naval ship abruptly blocked the path of a US warship.
The incident occurred on Saturday as the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian frigate HCS Montreal were conducting what the United States is calling a “freedom of navigation operation” between the island of Taiwan and mainland China.
China claims Taiwan as a province and claims the strait is part of its exclusive economic zone, while the US and allied nations regularly float and fly over airspace to emphasize their view that these are international waters.
A Chinese guided-missile destroyer overtook the Chung-Hun on its port side during a passage on Saturday, according to the US Indo-Pacific Command, and deviated from its bow by about 137 meters.
The American destroyer stayed on course but slowed down to 10 knots “to avoid a collision,” the military said.
Images released this Monday show a Chinese ship crossing the course of a US destroyer and straightening out to begin moving in a parallel direction.
The Indo-Pacific Command said these actions violated maritime regulations for safe passage in international waters.
The Chinese ship made no such maneuvers against the Canadian frigate following the American destroyer.
“The transit of the Chung-Hun and Montreal Rivers through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the joint commitment of the United States and Canada to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US Army said in a statement. “The US military flies, sails and operates safely and responsibly wherever permitted by international law,” he added.
The United States recently accused China of conducting an “overly aggressive maneuver” in the air over the South China Sea.
A Chinese J-16 model fighter jet in a video released by the Pentagon flies alongside an American RC-135 aircraft that is normally used for surveillance. The Chinese pilot then positioned himself well ahead of the RC-135, which was forced to fly through the turbulence caused by the Chinese fighter.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite protests from neighboring countries. The US also does not recognize Beijing’s claim to a strategic maritime territory through which about five billion dollars (about 4.68 billion euros) of international trade passes annually.
The Taiwan Strait incident occurred on the same day that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Secretary General Li Shangfu are attending a key Asia-Pacific security event in Singapore, the Shangri-La Dialogue.
On Sunday, Li accused the US and its allies of creating danger and trying to provoke China through their actions.
“It is better that countries, especially their warships and fighter jets, do not carry out rendezvous operations with the territories of other countries,” Li said. “What’s the point of going there? In China, we always say: “Mind your own business, and I will mind mine,” he reasoned.
Beijing and Washington signed “contingency” agreements between their air and naval forces, but communications between the two armies were put on hold by China due to military support and arms sales to Taiwan by the United States or the assassination of a suspected Chinese. spy balloon in US airspace.
Beijing rejected a meeting between Austin and Lee in Singapore this week.
China frequently intercepts US and allied warplanes and ships in the South and East China Seas and the Taiwan Strait.
Similar actions led to the 2001 plane crash over the South China Sea between a Chinese fighter jet and a US Navy reconnaissance aircraft. The Chinese plane was destroyed, the pilot died.
The damaged US aircraft landed at a Chinese naval air base, leading to the detention of the crew and a diplomatic standoff between the two countries.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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