Tensions rise as Chinese and American warships nearly collide in Taiwan Strait.

China's Defense Minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, calling such "freedom of navigation" patrols a provocation to China. The US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, had earlier stated that Washington would not "flinch in the face of bullying or coercion" from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing's sweeping territorial claims.