By Pacific Island Times News Staff
A U.S. Navy destroyer had an encounter with Chinese navy ships near Guam last month, according to Newsweek, quoting a Navy official who confirmed the incident.
The interactions were “safe and professional,” U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesperson Commander Megan Greene told Newsweek, describing the USS Rafael Peralta’s brush with Chinese naval vessels during a patrol in the Western Pacific.
Armed with up to 96 missiles, the U.S. warship is one of nine Arleigh Burke-class ships in Destroyer Squadron 15 forward-deployed to Japan.
According to its Facebook post on Aug. 6, the USS Rafael Peralta returned to its homeport in Yokosuka, Japan after a summer patrol and family day cruise.
“During the Summer, we successfully completed a Freedom of Navigation Operation in the South China Sea and conducted joint exercises,” the Facebook post reads.
According to the Euro-Asian Times' report, an earlier Facebook post, which was later edited, mentioned that the warship “protected Guam during Chinese and Russian deployments in the area.”
Details of the encounter were not currently available. An email to the U.S. Navy has not been returned as of this writing.
The encounter indicated the expansion of the Chinese military's footprint in the Pacific region, which is historically commanded by the U.S. and allied forces.
The US Naval Institute News reported on Monday that the People’s Liberation Army Navy's Shandong Carrier Strike Group deployed to the Philippine Sea for a second time this year, with Japan issuing a sighting report of the CSG’s presence this week.
"Carrier CNS Shandong (17), cruiser CNS Yan’an, destroyer CNS Zhanjiang (165) and frigate CNS Yuncheng were sighted 261 miles south of Miyako Island around 6 a.m. Monday," the USNI News reported.
The Shandong CSG arrived in the Philippine Sea at the same time as the Abraham Lincoln CSG left the area.
The Lincoln CSG has been deployed to the Middle East as part of the U.S. response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
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