The power struggles in the existing world order are reflected in the increasing frequency of encounters between US warships and aircraft with their Chinese and Russian counterparts. A recent Navy Facebook post indicated a tête-à-tête with Chinese and Russian warships near Guam.

The encounter in question is said to have taken place near Guam, the American military base in the Western Pacific. However, the post was later deleted.

Guam is the westernmost point and territory of the USA. It is home to three major military bases of the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

The August 6 post was accompanied by a video showing the return of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta to its homeport, the Japanese naval base at Yokosuka, after an extended summer patrol.

The 9,700-ton destroyer had arrived at the base a day earlier and the post highlighted the scale of the joint military exercises between China and Russia. This was the fourth joint patrol by the Chinese and Russian navies.

The joint naval force entered the South China Sea via the Balintang Channel. It patrolled around the South Korean island of Jeju in the East China Sea. It then passed through the Osumi Strait near Japan before heading south towards the South China Sea.

The U.S. Navy conducts joint patrols with partner nations in the South China Sea to ensure freedom of navigation, but the People’s Liberation Army Navy, which views the disputed waters as its “backyard,” rarely conducts such patrols.

During this patrol, it encountered the USS Peralta, which was assigned to the US Navy’s largest destroyer squadron, the 15th. This squadron consists of nine Arleigh Burke-class ships based in Yokosuka. It is the main force of the US 7th Fleet’s main surface forces in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

The warship’s official Facebook page said it conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, held joint exercises with U.S. ally Japan and “protected Guam during Chinese and Russian operations in the area.”

USS Peralta released photos showing the warship in the South China Sea in early May before joining the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Philippine Sea in mid-June. On July 18, the destroyer stopped in Guam before returning to Yokosuka.

The original post did not provide many details. However, Newsweek reported that the part about the encounter was later deleted..

China and Russia have not disclosed the route of their fourth joint maritime patrol. The four-ship formation traversed parts of the western and northern Pacific for 15 days. Beijing and Moscow did not mention that they were approaching Guam, but the distance of their patrol suggests they were close to the island’s waters.

China deployed the Type 052D destroyer Yinchuan, the Type 054A frigate Hengshui and the Type 903 supply ship Weishanhu for the joint patrol, while Russia sent the Steregushchiy-class corvette Sovershennyy.

Encounter with Chinese warship

This is not the first time that US forces have encountered their Chinese and Russian counterparts. In July, China and Russia sent four bombers into Alaska’s air defense zone when they came within 200 miles of the US coast.

That same month, four Chinese warships conducted freedom of navigation operations in waters north of the Aleutian Islands, which lie within the US exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from the coast.

In June 2023, an encounter occurred in the Taiwan Strait between the USS Chung-Hoon, a US Navy destroyer, and a Chinese warship. The Chinese ship performed a maneuver described as “unsafe,” crossing the path of the US ship and forcing it to slow down to avoid a collision.

Another significant incident occurred in 2018, when a Chinese warship came dangerously close to the USS Decatur in the South China Sea. The Chinese ship maneuvered to within 40 meters of the U.S. ship, prompting the U.S. Navy to describe the action as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

Such clashes often occur as part of US Navy “freedom of navigation” operations to challenge China’s territorial claims in the region. China views these operations as provocations, while the US claims they are necessary to uphold international law and ensure free passage through these strategic waters.

Defend Guam

Guam is home to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam Naval Base and Camp Blaz, which is currently under construction. As the westernmost American territory and close to the South China Sea, it will play a crucial role in a potential conflict with China.

In response to China’s advances in hypersonic technologies, including cruise missiles and hypersonic glide missiles, the United States has accelerated the completion of the Guam Missile Defense System.

The US envisions a comprehensive missile defense system consisting of various land, sea and air-based weapons, sensor and communications systems, and command and control platforms.

The system is designed to defend against incoming ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles. The first test, scheduled for 2025, will involve the launch of a Standard Missile-3 interceptor equipped with the Aegis weapon system from Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB) against a medium-range ballistic missile.

As the EurAsian Times previously reported, the target is expected to be fired from an altitude of over 20,000 feet from a C-17 or similar aircraft at least 800 nautical miles east of Guam in the Broad Ocean Area (BOA) of the western Pacific.

The interceptor will launch from Northwest Field at AAFB, with the first booster stage separating shortly after launch and landing in a remote, uninhabited area of ​​AAFB.

The interception will occur in the exosphere, more than 200 nautical miles from Guam. The assessment is that debris from the intercept, as well as physical components of the target and interceptor, would fall into the sea and sink to the sea floor more than 88 nautical miles from Guam.

• Ritu Sharma has been a journalist for over a decade, writing on defence, foreign affairs and nuclear technology.
• The author can be contacted at ritu.sharma (at) mail.com
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