China’s brazen anti-American military actions continue to escalate, now with a Chinese warship’s dangerous maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait. Will there be real consequences for this aggression, or will the US continue to face these provocations?
Over the weekend, the USS Chung-Hoon, an American destroyer, and the HSMC Montreal, a Canadian frigate, were conducting a routine transit through international waters in the Taiwan Strait. A Chinese guided-missile destroyer, the Luyang III, conducted unsafe maneuvers in the vicinity of the USS Chung-Hoon, overtaking the U.S. destroyer on its port side then crossing its bow at an alarming distance of 150 yards. Despite these aggressive actions, the US Indo-Pacific Command stressed that the U.S. military will fly, sail, and operate in any area where international law allows.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin justified and defended these actions, calling them “completely justified, lawful, safe and professional,” and blaming the US for supposedly illegal behavior. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, however, stated that the US would not “flinch in the face of bullying or coercion” from China and would maintain its presence in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Recent weeks have seen increased aggression from China, with a Chinese fighter pilot conducting an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver during the intercept of a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft on May 26. Such incidents occurred in international airspace and add fuel to Admiral John Aquilino’s comments suggesting that China’s “inability to operate in accordance with the rule-based order” is a dangerous destabilizing factor in the region.
China’s aggressive actions not only compromise the safety of American servicemen but
