A Chinese warship came within 150 meters of the US destroyer USS Chung-Hoon during a rare joint Canadian-US mission crossing the Taiwan Strait, Beijing’s latest aggressive military move in the South China Sea.
Global News has been traveling aboard HMCS Montreal, the Canadian frigate participating in the mission, since May 25 in the South China Sea and witnessed the near-collision from the ship’s bridge wing.
A People’s Liberation Navy ship gained considerable speed and cut in front of the Chung-Hoon’s bow, a maneuver by HMCS Montreal’s commanding officer, Capt. Paul Mountford, described as “unprofessional”.
When the Chinese ship changed course, Mountford said the crew called the American ship and told it to move or there would be a collision. The Americans responded by telling the Chinese to stay away from the ship, but the Chung-Hoon eventually had to change course and slow down to avoid a crash.
Mountford believes the incident was “clearly provoked by the Chinese”.
“The fact that it was announced on the radio before it was done clearly indicates that it was intentional.”
The Chung-Hoon and the Montreal had been sailing together in the South China Sea for almost a week before entering the Taiwan Strait. Global News saw Chinese warships following the Canadian ship several times during its transit.
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The Chinese did not attempt a similar maneuver on HMCS Montreal, but one of the two warships in the area sailed to within 1,000 meters of the Canadian ship, a distance Mountford believed to be safe.
The Chinese informed the Canadian and American ships by radio that they were entering Chinese territory, despite the fact that the joint mission was taking place in internationally recognized waters, according to Mountford.
“I hope this is an isolated incident that will not happen again for us, because we have international law on our side,” Mountford told Global News. “These are international waters.”
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a report According to reports on Saturday, the Chinese warship “performed maneuvers in a dangerous manner near Chung-Hoon.”
According to USINDOPACOM, the ship overtook the US destroyer on its port side by crossing its bow at 150 meters, prompting the Chung-Hoon to maintain its course but slow its speed to 10 knots “to avoid a collision”. The Chinese ship then crossed the Chung-Hoon’s bow a second time “starboard to port at 2,000 yards” and remained clear of the destroyer’s port bow.
“LY 132’s closest point of approach was 150 meters away and its actions violated the maritime ‘rules of the road’ of safe passage in international waters,” the statement said.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada said the Canadian and U.S. ships had “hyped (the shipping) publicly,” and added that the naval and air forces Chinese authorities had tracked and monitored the two vessels “legally and professionally.”
“Relevant countries have deliberately stirred up unrest and risks across the Taiwan Strait, maliciously undermining regional peace and stability, and sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” wrote Jianwei Li, deputy director of the cultural and press section of the embassy.
Jianwei said China would take all necessary measures to “firmly respond to all threats and provocations.”
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand had just finished attending a security summit in Singapore when she learned of the Taiwan Strait incident.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu attended the summit.
Anand said neither Canada nor its allies would be deterred from sailing in international waters.
“Canada will continue to sail where international law allows, including in the Strait and the South China Sea,” Anand said in an interview from Singapore.
“In reality, our overall goal is to increase peace and stability in this region. And that’s why we’re going to continue to see more of Canada in this region, as outlined in our Indo-Pacific strategy. We have already seen dangerous interceptions and we have addressed these issues appropriately with China regarding our RCAF pilots. The actors in this region must engage responsibly, and that is the essential thing.
— with files from David Akin and Sean Previl, Global News
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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