Tensions with China?
Posted: Monday, March 09, 2009 11:30 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Security, Jim Miklaszewski
From NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
A senior defense official confirms that five Chinese ships "aggressively maneuvered" and shadowed a U.S. Navy surveillance ship yesterday.
The Chinese vessels moved into "dangerous proximity" to the USNS Impeccable, "in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship," which was operating on a routine mission in international waters, the senior defense official says.
A written statement from the U.S. Defense Department says the Chinese vessels surrounded the USNS Impeccable, and that two of them closed in to within 50 feet and began waving Chinese flags and telling the U.S. ship to leave the area.
Video: Chinese ships allegedly harassed a U.S. Navy ship in international waters.Unaware of the Chinese ships' intentions, the USNS Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels to defend itself. Chinese crewmembers "disrobed" to their underwear, and continued to move closer, coming within 25 feet of the USNS Impeccable, officials said.
The U.S. ship tried bridge-to-bridge communications to stop this madness, telling the Chinese that they would leave the area in a friendly (and presumably fully clothed) manner, officials added.
Two of the Chinese ships pulled right in front of the USNS Impeccable, causing it to make an emergency "all stop" so not to hit the Chinese boats, officials said, adding that the Chinese dropped several pieces of wood into the water directly in front of the Impeccable, which then made its way clear of the area.
The Chinese ships involved were a Chinese Navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol Vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, officials said.
"Coastal states do not have a right under international law to regulate foreign military activities in the EEZ,” Major Stewart Upton said in a written statement. “The unprofessional maneuvers by Chinese vessels violated the requirement under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean. We expect Chinese ships to act responsibly and refrain from provocative activities that could lead to miscalculation or a collision at sea, endangering vessels and the lives of U.S. and Chinese mariners."
The incident with the Chinese ships took place in the South China Sea, about 75 miles south of Hainan Island. The Pentagon says that this incident followed several days of "increasingly aggressive conduct by Chinese vessels."
Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman also called the acts by these five Chinese ships "careless and reckless," adding that the Chinese ships acted in an "unprofessional" way.
The increasingly aggressive conduct included:
-- March 7: A PRC intelligence collection ship made a bridge to bridge call to the USNS Impeccable, calling their operations illegal and telling them to leave the area or "suffer the consequences"
-- March 5: a Chinese frigate approached the USNS Impeccable, crossing its bow within about 100 yards; about 2 hours later, a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducted 11 fly-bys at a low altitude (about 600 yards)
-- March 4: a Chinese Bureau of Fisheries Patrol vessel used a high intensity spotlight to harass an ocean surveillance ship, the USNS Victorious, shining it on the ship and at the crew (the ship was operating about 125 nautical miles off the coast of China); the ship then crossed the Victorious' bow in darkness without warning; finally, a Chinese Y-12 surveillance aircraft conducted 12 fly-bys at a low altitude (about 400 feet).
