At a time when ties between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest, China is pursuing assertive new moves in the Taiwan Strait, intensifying Beijing’s habitual harassment of the international waterway.
Chinese and US military aircraft and ships will inevitably collide in the area, according to US officials and analysts, but the incident in which a Chinese warship passed a US destroyer earlier this week in the Strait is nearly unheard of.
China Aggressive Moves in Taiwan
Chinese provocative actions in the Taiwan Strait pose a growing threat to the United States. China is making forceful new measures in the Taiwan Strait at a time when relations between Beijing and Washington are at an all-time low, intensifying Beijing’s routine harassment in the international waterway.
American officials and analysts predict that Chinese and US military aircraft and ships would surely clash in the area, but the occurrence in which a Chinese warship passed a US destroyer earlier this week in the Strait is almost unheard of aggressive actions by China in Taiwan
The Chinese often follow US ships in the Taiwan Strait, get on the radio, and tell them to leave, but I am not aware of any instances of this happening in the South China Sea.
According to US Indo-Pacific Command, a video of the incident shows the Chinese naval ship passing the American destroyer and crossing its bow 150 yards between the two vessels.
Analysts say it’s unknown why China decided to carry out such a provocation; they speculate that it may have been in response to the US’s support for Taiwan, as a diversion from domestic issues, or as a kind of peacocking at a prominent defense summit in the area.
As a result of the US shooting down a Chinese surveillance balloon and Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif) meeting with Taiwan’s president, tensions between the US and China have risen recently and don’t appear to be easing.
Read more: China Legislature Establishes Modest Growth Target Of About 5%
President Biden Urges Establishing Communication Channels
President Biden is urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to create reliable channels of communication that continue to function even as unforeseen events, like air and naval encounters in the disputed South China Sea, upend the relationship.
Beijing has reacted to some of the United States attempts while blocking others.
A US official confirmed to The Hill that CIA Director William Burns visited China in May and discussed with his Chinese counterparts the value of keeping lines of communication open in intelligence channels.
But, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s invitation to hold a meeting alongside the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week was rebuffed by China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu.
When Austin and Li were presenting opposing remarks to the conference, a conflict erupted between the Chinese military ship and the US warship, which was traveling with a Canadian warship.