Former NATO Commander Warns Collision Incident Could Trigger War With China

International

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Former NATO Allied Supreme Commander Europe, James Stavridis, warned that the incident of a Chinese warship nearly colliding with a United States (US) Navy destroyer in the Taiwan Strait could trigger war.

The US Naval Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said the Chinese ship maneuvered in an unsafe manner near the USS Chung-Hoon, which was moving through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday (3/6/2023) with a Canadian frigate.

Stavridis shared a clip of the close encounter between the two ships and lashed out at Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

“As a former sea captain of a similar US destroyer, it almost made my heart stop watching this video. This is highly unprofessional and provocative behavior on the part of the Chinese Navy. The war started with an incident like this. Shame on the PLA Navy, ” wrote Stavridis, as quoted by Newsweek.

A video published by Global News earlier showed the Chinese ship approaching a US Navy destroyer and passing within 150 yards of it.

The US military said the Chinese ships “overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bows 150 yards” but the US destroyers kept course and slowed down to prevent a collision.

It added that the Chinese ship then crossed the bow of Chung-Hoon a second time from starboard into port at 2,000 yards and remained in the bow of Chung-Hoon port.

“The close confrontation of Chinese warships violated maritime ‘rules of passage’ for safe passage in international waters,” USINDOPACOM said in a statement on its website.

“The US military flies, sails and operates safely and responsibly anywhere international law permits.”

The incident comes barely a week after Chinese fighter jets made aggressive maneuvers near a US surveillance aircraft on May 26.

“The PRC pilot flew right in front of the RC-135’s nose, forcing the US aircraft to fly past its turbulence. RC-135 conducted routine and safe operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law,” USINDOPACOM said.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned that a war with China would be devastating. He also warned Beijing against taking further action around the island of Taiwan.

(luc/luc)