AMN
The US Navy has released a video of what it called an “unsafe interaction” in the Taiwan Strait, in which a Chinese warship crossed in front of a US destroyer in the sensitive waterway, a risky incident amid deteriorating Sino-US ties.
The encounter comes as both countries have traded blame for not holding military talks – with disagreements between the two over everything from trade and Taiwan to Ukraine – and raises the spectre of future face-offs that could spiral out of control.
The US military said the USS Chung-Hoon, a destroyer; and Canada’s HSMC Montreal, a frigate, were conducting a “routine” transit of the strait on Saturday when the Chinese ship cut in front of the US vessel, coming within 150 yards (137 metres).
In the video, released by the US Navy yesterday, a Chinese warship can clearly be seen sailing across the path of the Chung-Hoon in calm waters. The Chung-Hoon does not change course.
China’s imports are expected to have contracted in May, despite a low base last year as a lockdown in Shanghai brought the country’s biggest port to a standstill, while exports likely fell for the first time in three months, a Reuters poll showed.
Inbound shipments to the world’s second-largest economy were projected to have fallen 8.0% year-on-year, following a drop of 7.9% in April, according to the median forecast of 26 economists in the poll finalised on Monday.
Exports are expected to have shrank 0.4% from a year earlier against growth of 8.5% in April, reflecting weak global demand for Chinese goods and aligning with poor import performance since China brings in parts and materials from abroad to assemble into finished products for export.
China’s trade data will be released on Wednesday.
The pessimistic outlook for exports suggests that Chinese exporters have caught up on unfulfilled orders after last year’s COVID-19 disruptions and global demand is insufficient to sustain a recovery in outbound shipments.