Chinese ship cuts off U.S. destroyer

The Chinese naval vessel on Saturday passed 150 yards in front of the USS Chung-Hoon while it was sailing through the Taiwan Strait, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The approach forced the American destroyer to do evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision. The Chinese naval vessel sailed in front of the U.S. ship a second time, 2,000 yards away, and afterward remained close by.

Is this sort of thing common? This is the second military close call in as many weeks. Last week, the U.S. military reported that a Chinese fighter jet flew close to one of its surveillance planes in an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver.”

Dig deeper: Read Erica Kwong’s report about China’s recent crackdown on Western officials and businesses.