US Accuses PRC Ship of 'Unsafe’ Action in Taiwan Strait

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Facts

  • The US Indo-Pacific Command has accused a Chinese warship of behaving in an "unsafe manner" toward a US destroyer Saturday after the ships came within 150 yards (137 meters) of each other in the Taiwan Strait.1
  • Video footage of the incident released by the US on Monday shows the Chinese naval ship Luyang III cutting toward USS Chung-Hoon, causing the US destroyer to slow down to avoid a collision.2
  • The US claimed the Chinese warship violated the maritime "Rules of the Road" of safe passing in international water, as the USS Chung-Hoon conducted a "routine south to north" operation in the strait alongside Royal Canadian Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal.3
  • Footage also shows the Chinese warship completing a second pass in front of the US destroyer approximately 2K yards apart. The video was taken by journalists from the Canadian news outlet Global News on board the Canadian ship.4
  • Speaking at a security summit in Singapore, Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu accused Canada and the US of "deliberately provoking risk” and warned foreign states to "mind [their] own business" in areas near China.5
  • The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taiwan rejects the PRC's assertions. Though US Pres. Joe Biden has in the past promised to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, the US officially maintains a position of strategic ambiguity on the matter.6

Sources: 1Reuters, 2Al Jazeera, 3The Hill, 4ABC News, 5BBC News, and 6Yahoo News.

Narratives

  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. The US is continuing to provoke China despite the PRC’s willingness to stabilize relations between the two states. Beijing won’t hesitate to fight back against American aggression if the Biden administration doesn’t make amends, abide by the previously agreed upon One-China policy, and do what’s necessary to avoid a further dispute.
  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Hill. Washington must remain aggressive in the face of China’s expanded power for the sake of ensuring PRC ideology does not become the global norm. It’s important for the US to continue strengthening deterrents in the Indo-Pacific region.

Predictions