U.S.-CHINA MILITARY TENSIONS SOAR
Chinese warship sailed just 41m of a US destroyer on Sunday
THE bitter trade dispute between China and the United States is increasingly spilling into the military domain, with a risky incident in the South China Sea highlighting the dangers of souring relations.
In what the US Navy has called an “unsafe and unprofessional” encounter, a Chinese warship sailed within just 41m of a US destroyer on Sunday as it passed by Chinese-claimed features in the South China Sea, forcing the American vessel to take evasive action.
The close call capped days of tit-for-tat military moves that came as President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war with China.
“The close encounter between the Chinese destroyer and the USS Decatur was the closest one yet,” Timothy Heath, senior international defence research analyst at the RAND Corporation, said.
“It may reflect in part the growing US-China tensions. But it also appears to reflect a growing willingness by Beijing to test the Americans in the South China Sea,” he added.
Beijing reacted furiously after the incident, saying America’s “freedom of navigation” operation threatened China’s sovereignty and security, and damaged military relations.
The encounter followed a string of other military incidents.
Last week, plans for a Beijing meeting between US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe fell through after China declined to make Wei available.
Days earlier, China nixed a planned port visit of a US warship to Hong Kong, and cancelled a meeting between the head of the Chinese navy and his American counterpart.
That all came around the time US B-52 bombers took part in a combined operation with Japan over the East China Sea, and flew through international airspace over the South China Sea.
The Chinese Defence Ministry denounced the flyovers as “provocative” actions.
Mattis this week acknowledged “tension points” between the US and China, but said he did not “see it getting worse”.
The US and Chinese militaries in 2014 agreed on a code of conduct for unplanned encounters at sea, aimed at helping the two navies avoid mishaps.
It was unclear whether Sunday’s manoeuvre came at Beijing’s request — or was initiated by the Chinese ship’s captain — but political motivations were likely a factor in forcing a close call.
“With tensions elevated, China seems motivated to risk a possible collision as a means of intimidation.
“There is a real risk of miscalculation,” Heath said.
Trump’s trade war has infuriated Beijing, as did his authorisation of a US$1.3 billion arms sale to Taiwan, which China considers a rebel province.
Washington last week enacted new tariffs against China covering another US$200 billion of its imports.
And Washington has placed financial sanctions on China for its recent purchase of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S400 surface-to-air missile systems.
Current military tensions are likely to persist, said Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, as they suit Trump’s political objectives.