USA: Chinese warship comes dangerously close to US warship

A Chinese warship came within 137 meters and dangerously close to a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced Saturday. But China accused the U.S. of a “deliberate provocation” in the region.

The navies of the U.S. and Canada were conducting a rare joint exercise between the two countries in the strait when the Chinese ship got in front of the USS Chung-Hoon, forcing it to slow down to avoid a collision.

The People’s Republic of China claims Taiwan as its territory. Taiwan’s government says Beijing has never ruled the island, and President Joe Biden said the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said the USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian ship Montreal were conducting a “routine” transit in the Strait on Saturday./VOA/