Chinese Navy-USN Near-Collision in Taiwan Strait: Chinese Internet Reacts

“It’s like driving a 20-year-old Ford and facing off against an electric BYD…”

On June 3, a Chinese warship came within 150 yards (137 meters) of an American destroyer in the Taiwan Strait. USS Chung-Hoon was patrolling the Strait in a joint mission with Canada’s HMCS Montreal when the PLA’s Suzhou destroyer altered course and cut to the front.

Canadian journalists onboard HMCS Montreal first caught the incident on camera:

A day later, the US Navy released its own footage:

According to Canadian Navy commander Paul Mountford, the Chinese ship announced its move over the radio while changing course, which means it was likely intentional — and very dangerous. The Chung-Hoon slowed down just in time to avoid a collision.

Over on the Chinese internet, the narrative is rather different. Trending headlines go like this:

• Weibo Hot Search: # Canadian frigate witnesses the moment a Chinese warship forced an American ship to change course

• Guancha (nationalist news site): “Keep on hyping it up! Canadian journalist claims to have witnessed a Chinese warship forcing an American ship to change course; almost collision?”

• Sohu (popular online content site): “American warship forces its way through Taiwan Strait, our military made it change course; foreign media asks whether this now the norm, China replies”

• Yuyuan Tantian 玉渊谭天, a video content brand owned by China Central Television: “Chinese warship cuts across at close range, forcing American ship to change course!”

The state-media narrative adds further evidence that the incident was intentionally manufactured by the PLA. Had it simply been the impulsive decision of a rogue commander, it would not have been broadcasted with such enthusiasm to the Chinese public.

Below are some excerpts translated from coverage of the incident in Chinese media, which illustrate how international and Chinese audiences receive different versions of the same event. Featuring:

• Western media “hyping it up”;

• The PLA’s sacrificial heroism;

• And Chinese nationalists reading the tea leaves for US-Canada tensions.

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Mainstream Coverage

In a nod of endorsement, Xinhua News Agency republished the following piece from the Global Times. This makes it approximately an official narrative. Note the focus on 炒作 “hyping up”:

Canada’s Global News hyped up the incident, stating that their reporter, onboard the Canadian frigate Montreal, witnessed a scene where a Chinese military ship and the US destroyer Chung-Hoon almost collided, with the closest distance being less than 150 yards (about 137 meters).

According to the descriptions of Canada’s Global News and the US Naval Institute (USNI) website, as well as the scene exposed by Canadian media, at the time, the US and Canadian warships were sailing through the Taiwan Strait, and a Chinese People’s Liberation Army ship accelerated in front of the Chung-Hoon to perform a crosscut. Commander Paul Mountford of the Canadian Montreal claimed that the Chinese ship informed the US side that they were attempting to enter the Chinese territory and needed to change course to avoid a collision. The US ship’s response was asking the Chinese side to keep a distance from the Chung-Hoon, but the Chung-Hoon eventually changed course and slowed down.

According to Canada’s Global News, Mountford hyped up and criticized China’s approach as “unprofessional,” also arguing that the US-Canadian joint mission was taking place in internationally recognized waters. In a statement to Canada’s Global News, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada refuted the claim, stating that the US and Canadian warships were “openly hyping up [the crossing],” and that the Chinese navy and air force had been “legally and professionally” monitoring and warning the US and Canadian warships.

Below is a partial transcript of a June 5 segment from iFeng News (Phoenix Television), a state-owned, Hong Kong-based broadcast channel widely watched in China.

Media outlets report that on June 3 local time and with leadership from the US, an American warship and a Canadian warship barged into the Taiwan Strait. The ships that barged in this time were the American Chung-Hoon missile destroyer and the Canadian Montreal frigate. Faced with American and Canadian taunts, the PLA immediately fought back. … In this contest upon the waters, the Americans, who failed to benefit, turned to discourse. They accused China of “unprofessional” behavior during the interception. US INDOPACOM, in a statement on June 3, said that “unsafe” interactions at sea like these run contrary to navigation rules, which guarantee safe passage in international waters. But as you can see, this kind of rhetoric twists the truth to fit their argument. It was the American ships who barged into the Strait, sending false signals to pro-Taiwan independence forces. China had every right to legally attempt expulsion.

Nationalist Media and Influencers

While most media outlets in China can be reliably described as nationalist, there are some platforms and creators that specifically cater to politically engaged audiences and reflect more radicalized views. Many, including the prominent forum Guancha, are not state-owned.

真知见 Zhenzhijian, a blogger on Sohu:

Recently, US Secretary of Defense Austin stated at the “Shangri-La Dialogue” regional security forum that any conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating and that the United States is committed to maintaining stability in the region, as well as bringing up the so-called “freedom of navigation” issue.

On the same day that the US Secretary of Defense made this statement at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet announced that a US missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate had sailed through the Taiwan Strait. Clearly, these two actions are linked; the movement of U..warships is meant to coincide with the Defense Secretary’s speech.

Of course, in response to the US’s deliberate provocation, China also promptly took decisive measures. It is understood that as the US and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, a 052D missile destroyer from the PLA Navy Eastern Theater Command approached and warned the US warship, then performed a close-range crosscut, forcing the US vessel to reduce speed and change course.

超级学爸 “Super Study Dad,” a WeChat blogger (the following piece was read more than 100,000 times):

Why is this move about intimidation? Firstly, the US military has already lost in terms of momentum. This is a contest of courage and a comparison of willpower. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) truly isn’t afraid of death, and for the sake of defending the interests of the motherland, they can spare no cost.

Moreover, if it comes to actual bodily destruction, it’s actually much easier than this. Killing them would be as easy as turning one’s hand: a click of a button and a single strike can hit the soul. The navy brothers wouldn’t even need to step in; the army would also enjoy having seafood.

What scares them the most is the gap in weaponry. During the Korean War, the biggest advantage of the US military was their superior equipment, while the Chinese volunteers excelled in combat will and high-level strategic and tactical prowess. This is what our great teacher [Ed.: Mao Zedong] said: the US army had more steel but less spirit, while we had less steel but more spirit.

Now we have a bunch of energetic young men, while the US side has brought along not only their own rusty old lady [referring to USS Chung-Hoon], but also a ninety-year-old Canadian grandmother [referring to HMCS Montreal] as a bodyguard. Their group looks more like insurance scammers than anything else.

Such a formation dares to come to the Taiwan Strait mainly because we have been too lenient with American imperialists in the past. When they came to the Taiwan Strait for their so-called freedom of navigation, we essentially didn’t care much. Then they could go back and tell their little brothers, “Look, I can go to the Taiwan Strait whenever I want and the rabbit [referring to China] doesn’t dare make a peep.”

But this time, the US has lost face. Firstly, the “rabbit” actually took action; secondly, it happened in front of their “little brothers”; thirdly, Canada spilled the beans about the incident, so the whole world knows about it, with videos and pictures.

This time, “Canajuana” was properly scared; they didn’t realize the “rabbit” could pull out such a move. “Canajuana” originally released the video to accuse the “rabbit” of dangerous maneuvering, but what the public actually saw was the difference in capacity between the two ships.

[Ed.: Mocking Canada as 加麻大 (“Canajuana” or “weed-addled Canada”) became a Chinese internet meme after Canada legalized marijuana. Chinese nationalists often cite the apparent proliferation of mind-altering substances in Western countries as evidence of the latter’s degeneration and weakness.]

Next up: The discussion over on Douyin, China’s domestic TikTok, where hundreds of millions get their news: