U.S.: Chinese Harassed Unarmed Ship

Pentagon Claims Ships Approached U.S. Navy Vessel; Chinese Crew Reportedly Stripped

(CBS/AP)  The Pentagon charged Monday that five Chinese ships shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close to a U.S. Navy vessel in an apparent attempt to harass the American crew.

The Obama administration said the incident Sunday followed several days of "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships in the region.

U.S. officials said a protest was to be delivered to Beijing's military attache at a Pentagon meeting Monday.

"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," said Marine Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.

A Chinese intelligence ship and four others surrounded the USNS Impeccable, an unarmed vessel with a civilian merchant marine crew, as the craft conducted ocean surveys in international waters in the South China Sea, the Defense Department said in a statement.

The other Chinese ships were fishing vessels and tried to snap the U.S. ship's towed sonar, among other things, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.

The Impeccable sprayed one ship with water from fire hoses to force it away. Despite the force of the water, Chinese crew members stripped to their underwear and continued closing within 25 feet, the Defense department said.

"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," Upton said.

The incident came just a week after China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations following a five-month suspension over American arms sales to Taiwan.

It also comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi is due in Washington this week to meet with U.S. officials.

And it brings to mind the first foreign policy crisis that former President George Bush suffered with Beijing shortly after he took office — China's forced landing of a spy plane and seizure of the crew in April of 2001.

[philabias]

see what Obamas deplomicy is good for , He sends clinton to beg and they start flexing there muscle and Obama cowars.... 46 months to go.

[straightalk]

USA DOES NOT OWN THE WORLD!! You have been starting wars, invading other countries, assisinating leaders of other countries who disagree with you. All the while claiming your self-rightous lines of implementing democracy to these countries.

Your country limit is 200 miles off your coast line, not 125 miles off China's coast line. This is a one sided story from US perspective.

USA has been nothing but a world bully since WWII & is getting worst & worst. Now you have added financial crisis to the world to shoulder because of your greed & excesses.

It's time for US to stop acting like you are god. You are not.

[whitemale08]

Hey Mr. President,

Check to see if the British tipped off the Chinese to start another crisis.

The British right now are itching for WWIII since their global Ponzi scheme of worthless financial derivatives and credit-default swaps is crumbling.

And since they are not receiving a 'warm welcome' from the White House, rightly so, Gordon Brown is scrambling back to London to figure out a plan for his bosses to set a trap for America and plunge into WWIII or fund some bio-terrorist attack.

It's what they do and you can't trust them just because they are white.

[prayerman62]

OK one more thing we could tell them that would be easier. IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN WE OWE YOU NOTHING.

[prayerman62]

We need to send a message to China. IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN ITS AN ACT OF WAR.

[govwatch2]

We have a president(?) with no respect, so why should we expect the world to respect us any more? We will continue to buy their junk, but they will not buy our exports. Welcome to the world of second class countries.

[alien_view]

Just because China may own 1/2 of the US debt and who knows how much land and assets dosen't mean that they can't spur with US ships. What better opportunity to do it when a helpless non military vessell is around. WE SHOULD HAVE THE POLICY IF YOU GET WITHIN 300 FEET WITHIN A US VESSEL, WITHOUT THAT SHIP'S PERMISSION, YOU WILL BE BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER. This should be a standing order. With the advent of laser measurements they should be able to keep the 351 foot distance away.

[pugster]

Good question. The mission to setup sophisticated sensors to ensure US would know in advance should China send SSBN boat to the deep Pacific to blackmail the US!

I won't worry too much, US and China is like Mr. John and prostitute have arguments over money after sex in a brothel. No matter how serious is the dispute, it's sex that bind them together.
Posted by ysfbuy2

I'm sure that if some Chinese intelligence ship is close to the US but in international waters, that ship would be perceived as a threat by the US.

[dls3221]

Let's see, we're in the Persian Gulf; we're deploying missles in Central Asia, close to Moscow; we've got an army base in S. Korea, the same exact base that the Imperial Japanese army occupied; and now we're operating in the S. China sea. Any wonder why the world is P.O'd at us ? Maybe we should tend to our domestic problems, like our upcoming Depression 2.0.

[cbsantispin]

It's called "no respect!", this is what happens when a nation dogs out its military and gives the impression its military can't respond to anything and lets its military operate on vapors!