China’s Maneuver in Open Waters of Taiwan Strait ‘Unsafe,’ Violates International Law: US Indo-Pacific Command

A Chinese navy ship conducts what U.S. officials called an "unsafe” maneuver, cutting sharply across the path of a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, on June 3, 2023. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard/U.S. Navy via AP

The Chinese military’s latest aggression, this time against a U.S. warship in international waters in the Taiwan Strait, was “unsafe,” the U.S. military said following a potentially dangerous interaction on June 3.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, accompanied by the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal, was performing “a routine south-to-north Taiwan Strait transit” on June 3 “in accordance with international law,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a statement.