Chinese warship nearly collided with the U.S. destroyer

A Chinese warship nearly collided with the USS Chung-Hoon destroyer in the Taiwan Strait during a joint Canada-U.S. mission.

GlobalNews, whose representatives were on board the Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal, reported this.

The ship of the People’s Liberation Army of China Navy gained considerable speed and passed in front of the bow of the U.S. USS Chung-Hoon destroyer. At the critical moment, the distance between the ships was about 137 meters.

The bully vessel is probably a Type 056 project corvette, which is called “Jiangdao” according to the NATO classification.

Judging by the number, this is FSG 535/645 PLANS “Xuancheng”, launched on August 19, 2016.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) stated that the Chinese warship “executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of USS Chung-Hoon.”

According to their data, the Chinese ship overtook the U.S. destroyer on its port side crossing its bow at 137 meters, prompting the Chung-Hoon to maintain course but slow its speed to 10 knots to avoid a collision.

The Chinese ship then crossed the USS Chung-Hoon’s bow a second time starboard to port at 1,828 meters and remained off the destroyer’s port bow.

“The LY 132’s closest point of approach was 137 meters, and its actions violated the maritime ‘Rules of the Road’ of safe passage in international waters,” the statement read.

Capt. Paul Mountford, HMCS Montreal’s Commander, called such a treacherous maneuver “not professional”.

According to Mountford, the Chinese vessel abruptly altered its course, and the captain called the American ship and prompted them to move, or there would be a collision.

The Americans responded by asking the Chinese to stay clear of the ship, but the USS Chung-Hoon ultimately needed to alter course and slow down to avoid a collision.

“The fact this was announced over the radio prior to doing it clearly indicated this was intentional,” said the HMCS Montreal’s commander.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada said the Canadian and U.S. ships had “hyped (the sailing) up publicly” and added that the Chinese military had been tracking and monitoring both ships “lawfully and professionally.”

The Pentagon immediately criticized the actions of the Chinese sailors. In response, Beijing accused the US of trying to destabilize the Indo-Pacific region.

“They are not here for a peaceful passage, they are here for provocation,” said Li Shangfu, Chinese Defense Minister.