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[Global Times Comprehensive Report] The US "Newsweek" reported on the 12th that the media learned that a US NavyDestroyerLast month, the US Navy encountered several Chinese naval ships while cruising in the Western Pacific. The media believes that this is a sign that "the Chinese military is regularly conducting operations in waters farther from its coast." Lieutenant Colonel Megan Green, a spokesperson for the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, responded in an email that the USS Rafael Peralta, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, interacted with Chinese warships during its deployment mission, and that the interaction between the two sides was "safe and professional."

The destroyer is reportedly one of nine Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the 15th Destroyer Squadron deployed to Japan. The squadron is the largest destroyer squadron in the U.S. Navy and the main surface force of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. A post by the U.S. military on Facebook earlier this month showed that the warship returned to Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan after a summer cruise. The warship's official webpage stated that it "protected Guam during the deployment of Chinese and Russian (warships) in the waters," but the message was later deleted. "During forward deployments, our naval forces often interact with foreign forces at sea," Green told Newsweek. But she did not specify whether the encounter took place near Guam, nor did she mention any Russian warships.

The report mentioned that the Chinese and Russian naval fleets concluded their fourth joint maritime cruise last month, but did not disclose the specific route of the joint cruise, only saying that the route covered relevant waters in the western and northern Pacific Ocean. The report believes that judging from the distance, the Chinese and Russian fleets are likely to have reached the waters near the westernmost territory of the United States.

In July, the Chinese and Russian naval fleets conducted the fourth joint maritime patrol in the western and northern Pacific Ocean. ("People's Navy" WeChat official account)

Green said that China and Russia "have the right to operate in international airspace and international waters in accordance with customary international law, and have never conducted any actions that could be considered a threat to the United States or our partners or allies during the (joint cruise). "The Asia-Pacific region is a highland for peaceful development, not an arena for geopolitical games. China is a partner of all countries and poses no challenge to any country. The United States should no longer use unfounded threats as an excuse to continue to advance its military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region and provoke confrontation." (Wang Huicong)