China nearly hitting U.S. warship is ‘clearly provocative’: ex-navy head – National | 24CA News
China’s shut manoeuvring close to a U.S. ship within the Taiwan Strait was “clearly provocative,” says retired vice-admiral Mark Norman, former vice chief of the defence employees.
Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson on The West Block, Norman — a 39-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy and its former commander — mentioned the Chinese captain “knew exactly what he was doing.”
“This was not an accident,” he mentioned.
Global News reported on Saturday {that a} Chinese warship got here inside 150 yards of hitting the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, an incident solely caught on movie and seen first-hand by Global News reporter Mackenzie Gray.
Gray was aboard HMCS Montreal, which was barely behind the American ship. HMCS Montreal’s commander, Capt. Paul Mountford, informed Global News the incident was “clearly instigated by the Chinese.”
“The fact this was announced over the radio prior to doing it, clearly indicated this was intentional,” Mountford mentioned on Saturday.
The video exhibits the Chinese ship steering instantly in entrance of the Chung-Hoon, coming in from the left. To keep away from a collision, the American ship slowed down and needed to change course barely.
Norman mentioned China does such manoeuvring as a result of it needs to ship a message and that such a observe was seen within the Cold War from the Russians.
“The Chinese have taken this right out of the Russian playbook,” Norman mentioned. “They’re bullying and provoking reactions to say that these are their waters and that we shouldn’t be there.”
The incident occurred in worldwide waters, the place the stakes are excessive given renewed tensions between China and Taiwan, a self-governing democracy Beijing has laid declare on.
“It’s important that we be able to demonstrate that they do not control those waters, they are not Chinese waters,” Norman added, noting that doing so has “deeper implications in terms of the sovereignty of Taiwan.”
Since it occurred, China’s defence minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, mentioned in a gathering in Singapore of a few of the world’s prime defence officers — together with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin — that China doesn’t have an issue with “innocent passage.”
However, Shangfu mentioned that “we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation.”
In an announcement to Global News, China’s embassy in Canada mentioned that “relevant countries have been deliberately stirring up troubles and risks in the Taiwan Strait, maliciously undermining regional peace and stability.”
Austin informed the identical discussion board in Singapore on Saturday that the U.S. wouldn’t “flinch in the face of bullying or coercion” from China and would proceed commonly crusing via and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasise they’re worldwide waters.
At that very same convention, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, China snubbed a request from the U.S. for Austin and Shangfu to satisfy, which Austin mentioned is “unfortunate.”
Norman mentioned China’s declare that the Taiwan Strait is its personal territorial waters is totally false and isn’t supported by the worldwide neighborhood.
The incident is the newest in a string of aggressive conduct from China wherein the nation has flown plane recklessly near each Canadian and U.S. planes.
On Wednesday, the U.S. reported one other such incident wherein a Chinese jet flew in entrance of an air drive airplane, inflicting the cockpit to shake from the turbulence.
Global News reported in late 2022 that there have been round 60 incidents of “buzzing” of Canadian plane, some so shut that pilots may make eye contact, with some Chinese pilots displaying the center finger.
“Sadly, this is a recurring type of behaviour from the Chinese,” Norman mentioned. “You’re going to provoke an incident and who knows where it goes from there.”
— with recordsdata from The Associated Press and Global News’ Mackenzie Gray.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
