China defends confronting US, Canadian vessels in Taiwan Strait

Chinese Defense Minister Gen Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, June 4, 2023. [AP Photo]

China's defense minister on Sunday defended sailing a warship in front of a U.S. destroyer and a Canadian frigate as they sailed through the Taiwan Strait, contending that the passage of the allied Western vessels on "freedom of navigation patrols" was a provocation to China.

The United States and Canada mounted the rare joint sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, with a Chinese warship then overtaking the American ship and veering across its bow from about 140 meters (131 yards) in an "unsafe manner," according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.