Chinese destroyer extremely close to US warship
In this file photo taken on October 21, 2016, the guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73) operates in the South China Sea as part of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group. - An American warship has sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Sunday, September 30, 2018. PHOTO I DIANA QUINLAN | AFP
What you need to know:
- Chinese warship sailed within yards of an American destroyer-forcing it to change course.
- It changed course in an "unsafe and unprofessional" encounter as the US vessel was in contested waters in the South China Sea.
WASHINGTON,
A Chinese warship sailed within yards of an American destroyer -- forcing it to change course -- in an "unsafe and unprofessional" encounter as the US vessel was in contested waters in the South China Sea, an official said Monday.
The USS Decatur guided-missile destroyer was conducting what the military calls a "freedom of navigation operation" Sunday, when it passed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs in the remote Spratly Islands.
TERRITORIAL WATERS
The 12-mile distance is commonly accepted as constituting the territorial waters of a landmass.
Beijing claims all of the Spratly chain as part of its sweeping claims across much of the South China Sea.
During the operation, a Chinese Luyang destroyer approached the USS Decatur in "an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre in the vicinity of Gaven Reef in the South China Sea," US Pacific Fleet spokesman Commander Nate Christensen said.
The Chinese ship then conducted a series of "increasingly aggressive manoeuvres, and warned the Decatur to depart the area," he added.
MULTIPLE LEVELS
The Chinese "destroyer approached within 45 yards (metres) of Decatur's bow, after which Decatur manoeuvred to prevent a collision."
US-Chinese relations have been strained on multiple levels since Donald Trump became president in 2017.
A trade war launched by Trump has infuriated Beijing, as did his authorisation of a $1.3 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which China considers a rebel province.
Washington last week enacted new tariffs against China covering another $200 billion of its imports.
RETALIATORY MEASURES
China has taken a series of retaliatory measures, including scrapping a US warship's planned port visit to Hong Kong and cancelling a meeting between the head of the Chinese navy and his American counterpart.
On Monday, a US defence official said that security talks due to take place later this month in Beijing between Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and his Chinese counterpart had been cancelled.
