Taiwan Strait: tension rekindled between the United States and China after a new incident

Taiwan Strait tension rekindled between the United States and China

In the Taiwan Strait, incidents have multiplied in recent days between Chinese and Americans. And the statements of the officials of the two countries are getting stronger. The United States Navy on Saturday (June 3rd) accused a Chinese ship of having “dangerously” zigzagged around an American destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, less than 10 days after an aerial incident between the two countries in the region.

The Chinese building “carried out dangerous maneuvers near the Chung-Hoon”, an American destroyer which was sailing in the strait on Saturday, the American command said in a press release. The Chinese ship “passed the Chung-Hoon on the port side and crossed its bow at 150 meters. The Chung-Hoon maintained its course and slowed down to 10 (knots) to avoid a collision”, details the press release. He then “passed in front of the bow of the Chung-Hoon a second time from starboard to port at 2,000 meters” and continued to sail alongside the American destroyer which he approached within 150 meters, adds the text. .

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

“Cold War Mentality”

“We continue to be concerned about the People’s Liberation Army’s increasingly risky and coercive activities in the region, including in recent days,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said. who has been attending the Shangri-La Security Conference in Singapore with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in recent days. Present at the same conference, the Chinese Minister of Defense Li Shangfu, took the floor as the tensions grow between the two powers. “People can only ask themselves these questions: Who is disrupting peace in the region? What are the root causes of chaos and instability? And what do we need to remain vigilant and guard against?” he says, before lamenting “the resurgence of a cold war mentality” greatly increasing security risks.

American ships regularly cross the Taiwan Strait, but are rarely 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.

This is the second Sino-American incident in less than ten days in the region. On May 26, a Chinese fighter pilot performed “an unwarranted aggressive maneuver” near a US reconnaissance aircraft flying over the South China Sea, US military officials said. From the perspective of a Chinese military spokesman, the US plane “deliberately burst” into a training area in China “to carry out reconnaissance”.

China has rejected a US invitation to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific security and defense conference, citing US refusal to lift 2018 sanctions against Li Shangfu over arms purchases Russians, reports The Straits Times, when he was not yet a minister. Ties between Washington and Beijing are notoriously strained on a range of geopolitical issues: Taiwan, but also the South China Sea and President Joe Biden’s restrictions on semiconductor chip exports.

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