The U.S. Navy has released video footage of a Chinese warship approaching a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait and crossing in front of it in what the U.S. navy describes as “unsafe.”

The U.S. destroyer “Shung Hun” and the Canadian frigate “Montreal” were conducting a “routine” transit through the strait last Saturday when a Chinese vessel cut off the path in front of the destroyer 137 meters away, the US military said. .

A video released by the U.S. Navy on Sunday shows a Chinese warship crossing a road in front of a U.S. destroyer, forcing it to slow down to avoid a collision. The American destroyer did not change course.

A message radio to the Chinese ship in English could be heard warning of “attempts to restrict freedom of navigation,” but the exact meaning of the phrase was unclear because of the wind.

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❗️🇺🇲🇨🇳 ⚓Global News: Chinese ship nearly collides with US Navy destroyer in Taiwan Strait

The Chinese warship made a sudden turn and passed the US destroyer Sung-hoon by just 130 meters. This event caused Chung-hoon’s crew to quickly slow down and change their course pic.twitter.com/D46XFiYl19

– OsintTV📺 (@OsintTV) June 4, 2023

Last Saturday, the Chinese military accused the US and Canada of “intentionally raising the stakes” after the two countries’ navies made a rare joint voyage through the Taiwan Strait.

On Sunday, Taiwan’s defense ministry described China’s actions with US and Canadian ships as “provocative” and said maintaining peace and stability in the strait was the common responsibility of independent and democratic countries.

And, in a statement – “Any action aimed at increasing tension and danger will not contribute to regional security,” he added, adding that China must respect the right to freedom of navigation.

This is the second such incident in a few days. The United States said a Chinese warplane conducted “aggressive” maneuvers on May 26 near a US military aircraft over the South China Sea in international airspace.