SourcePage last updated at 16:41 GMT, Monday, 9 March 2009
Chinese ships 'harass' US vessel
Five Chinese ships have manoeuvred dangerously close to a US navy vessel in the South China Sea, the US government has said.
US officials said the incident came after days of "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships.
These violated international law on respecting other users of the seas, a Pentagon spokesman said.
A protest was expected to be delivered to the Chinese military attache at the Pentagon on Monday.
The incident happened on Sunday as the USNS Impeccable was on routine operations in international waters 75 miles (120km) south of Hainan island, a US statement said.
The ships had "aggressively manoeuvred" around the Impeccable "in an apparent co-ordinated effort to harass the US ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in international waters", according to the Pentagon.
Emergency stop
The US ship sprayed one Chinese vessel with water from fire hoses to try to force it away, it said.
But it said the Chinese crew stripped to their underwear and carried on approaching to within 25ft (8m).
The Pentagon identified the Chinese boats as a navy intelligence ship and four other vessels.
When the Impeccable radioed requesting a safe path to leave the area, two Chinese vessels dropped pieces of wood in its path, forcing the US ship to make an emergency stop, the Pentagon said.
"The unprofessional manoeuvres 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," said Pentagon spokesman Marine Maj Stewart Upton.
"We expect Chinese ships to act responsibly and refrain from provocative activities that could lead to miscalculation or a collision at sea," he said.
No immediate response from the Chinese government was reported.
Okay, this is strange. Just what possessed 5 Chinese vessels to all start fucking with a USN ship all at once? What was going on? Was the US ship getting close to something the Chinese wanted to keep secret, perhaps?
