New incident between China and the United States in the Taiwan Strait

The tone rises again. The United States Navy on Saturday (June 3) accused a Chinese ship of having zigzagged “dangerous” around a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, less than 10 days after an aerial incident between the two countries in the region.

This incident occurred while the USS Chung Hoona destroyer part of the US Pacific Fleet, sailed with the Canadian ship HMCS Montreal in the 180 km wide Taiwan Strait, which separates the self-governing island of the same name from mainland China.

China asserts sovereignty over the strait

The Chinese military said it had monitored the passage of the two ships, but did not mention any incident. “The relevant countries intentionally create trouble in the Taiwan Strait, deliberately stoke risks, and maliciously undermine regional peace and stability.”denounced Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Command of China.

American ships regularly cross the Taiwan Strait but they rarely do so accompanied by an Allied ship. The last joint American-Canadian passage dates back to September. These crossings irritate China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and claims to have sovereign rights over the strait.

On May 26, a Chinese fighter pilot flew “an unjustified aggressive maneuver” near a US reconnaissance aircraft flying over the South China Sea, US military officials said. From the perspective of a Chinese military spokesperson, the American aircraft “deliberately burst in” in a training area in China “to make [des opérations] of recognition”.