The US on Monday slammed China for its “unsafe and unprofessional” manoeuvres in the volatile Taiwan Strait.
In a recent video taken from the deck of the US Burke-class Aegis destroyer, released by the Pentagon, a Chinese ship can be seen cutting across USS Chung-Hoon’s bow, prompting the US vessel to steer to the left.
Prior to the incident, the Pentagon said that, on 26 May, an American Boeing RC-135 was forced to retreat after being hit by intentional turbulence caused by a Chinese jet while conducting a routine mission in the region.
“Unsafe and Unprofessional”
At a press briefing, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that “air and maritime intercepts happen all the time,” adding that the US does it too. But he defended the US military, saying, “the difference is, when we do it, when we feel like we need to do it, it’s done professionally, and it’s done inside the international law, and it’s done in accordance with the rules of the road.”
Referring to the two recent manoeuvres, Kirby said that although “not all of them are unsafe and unprofessional, but these two were.”
The USS Chung-Hoon claimed to have asked the Chinese ship to stay away from the Chung-Hoon, but the Chinese responded by saying, "Move, or there would be a collision." Eventually, the USS Chung-Hoon changed course and slowed down to avoid a crash.
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) June 5, 2023
Referring to a video that the US released of the incident, Kirby said that “You saw on the air intercept that they forced our — our aircraft — an RC-135 — to basically go through their jet wash. That — that — you saw the bump in the cockpit. That shows you how close that Chinese fighter was to our jet.”
He further stressed that “there was absolutely no need” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “to act as aggressively as they did.”
Kirby went on to warn that “It won’t be long before somebody gets hurt.” “That’s the — that’s the concern with these unsafe and unprofessional intercepts. They can lead to misunderstandings; they can lead to miscalculations.”
Continued Cooperation with China
On the same day, Washington also said it wished to continue cooperating with China.
The US Department of State’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told the media that the US is “looking to continue to have a predictable relationship” with China.
“President Biden has been clear. We don’t seek any kind of new cold war, and our competition must not spill over into conflict. And what the international community expects of the United States and the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is to manage this relationship responsibly, and that’s something that we continue to intend to do,” Patel said.