The American military released a video on Monday depicting an incident where a Chinese warship nearly collided with an American destroyer in the Taiwan Straits that occurred over the weekend, according to Fox News. 

The People's Republic of China claims the entirety of the Taiwan Straits as its own exclusive territory whereas the Americans insist it is international waters. In previous Communist Chinese saber rattlings toward their Taiwanese neighbors, the Americans sent a fleet of warships through the waterway in 1958 and 1996. 

The video of the incident, provided by The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), labeled the Chinese warship's antics as an "unsafe maneuver." The video shows a Chinese vessel cutting sharply in the path of an American destroyer, the USS Chung-Hoon. The American warship had to slow down to avoid a collision. 

USINDOPACOM called this incident "actions violated the maritime ‘Rules of the Road’ of safe passage in international waters...Chung-Hoon and Montreal [a Canadian frigate]’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the combined U.S.-Canadian commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific...The U.S. military flies, sails, and operates safely and responsibly anywhere international law allows."  

The commander of the Montreal described the Chinese maneuver as "not professional" and that the whole incident was "clearly instigated by the Chinese." He further detailed that "The fact this was announced over the radio prior to doing it, clearly indicated this was intentional...I am hoping that is an isolated incident that won’t happen again for us, because we have international law on our side. This is international waters." The Chinese destroyer did not perform a similar maneuver on the Canadian vessel that sailed behind the American ship. 

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Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministery, defended the actions of the Chinese vessel and said it was "in accordance with the law" and that "China's military actions are completely justified, lawful, safe and professional...It is the U.S. that should deeply reflect upon itself and correct the wrongdoings." 

This incident follows another last week where a Chinese J-16 fighter jet performed a dangerous flight maneuver in front of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.

The state of the American Navy has been deemed as "weak" according to The Heritage Foundation in its 2023 Index of U.S. Military Strength. To be fit for purpose, the Index "assesses that the Navy needs a battle force of 400 manned ships to do what is expected of it today. The Navy’s current battle force fleet of 298 ships and intensified operational tempo combine to reveal a service that is much too small relative to its tasks. Contributing to a lower assessment is the Navy’s persistent inability to arrest and reverse the continued diminution of its fleet as adversary forces grow in number and capability. If its current trajectory is maintained, the Navy will shrink further to 280 ships by 2037." 

China by contrast has been increasing its navy, which could number 400 ships soon. China's navy is newer and more numerous than the United States Navy at this point. US Naval Secretary Carlos Del Toro complained back in February that "They [China] got a larger fleet now so they’re deploying that fleet globally...We do need a larger Navy, we do need more ships in the future, more modern ships in the future, in particular that can meet that threat."