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US protests 'harassment' by Chinese vessels
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration vowed Monday to keep up military surveillance in waters off China and protested to China about what it called harassment of an American ship doing that work last week. The Pentagon charged that a Chinese intelligence gathering vessel and four others "shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close" to the USNS Impeccable surveillance ship in the South China Sea on Sunday, then threw obstacles in the water as it tried to leave.
In an odd twist, the unarmed Impeccable, which is operated for the Navy by civilian mariners, turned fire hoses on one vessel that came within 50 feet of it. The Chinese crew stripped to their underwear, then closed to within 25 feet.
A Pentagon spokesman called that "immature" and said the Chinese behaved recklessly and in violation of international law.
"We view these as unprofessional maneuvers," spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
The U.S. Navy surveillance ships tow sonar equipment that probes the ocean to gather acoustic data and detect underwater threats. The craft was specifically designed to augment the Navy's anti-submarine capability, although military spokesmen would not be specific about the Impeccable's duties.
The incident came just a week after China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations following a five-month suspension over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. And it came as Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was due in Washington to meet with U.S. officials.
In Beijing, Chinese officials did not immediately respond to voicemail messages and e-mail regarding the U.S. allegations.
Pentagon officials said the incident followed "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships against the Impeccable on Wednesday and Saturday and against the USNS Victorious surveillance ship on Thursday while it operated in the Yellow Sea.
"We're going to continue to operate in those international waters, and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around that," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
A protest was lodged with the Chinese government by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing over the weekend and was repeated to a Chinese defense attache by Defense Department East Asia policy officials at a Pentagon meeting Monday.
The Chinese ships included 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.
The Chinese vessels surrounded the Impeccable, and two got close enough for the crew to see people waving Chinese flags and telling the American ship to leave, the Pentagon said in a statement. Not knowing what the Chinese intended, the Impeccable crew sprayed fire hoses at one ship in self defense, the statement said. "The Chinese crew members disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet," the statement said.
Impeccable crew radioed to tell the Chinese ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate, the Pentagon said.
But shortly afterward, two of the Chinese ships stopped directly ahead of the Impeccable, forcing it to an emergency stop. The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood in the water in front of Impeccable's path.
China views almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory. China's claims to small islets in the region have put it at odds with five governments — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Another Pentagon spokesman, Marine Maj. Stewart Upton, said U.S. Navy ships and aircraft routinely operate in the area and that Chinese ships and aircraft routinely steam or fly nearby. "However, these actions were considerably more aggressive and unprofessional than we have seen."
Pentagon officials said the close encounter followed these other incidents last week:
_On Wednesday, a Chinese Bureau of Fisheries Patrol vessel used a high-intensity spotlight to illuminate the ocean surveillance ship USNS Victorious as it operated in the Yellow Sea, about 125 nautical miles from China's coast, the Pentagon said. The next day, a Chinese Y-12 maritime surveillance aircraft conducted 12 fly-bys of Victorious at an altitude of about 400 feet and a range of 500 yards.
_On Thursday, a Chinese frigate approached USNS Impeccable without warning and crossed its bow at a close range of approximately 100 yards, the Pentagon said. This was followed less than two hours later by a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducting 11 fly-bys of Impeccable at an altitude of 600 feet and a range from 100-300 feet.
_On Saturday, a Chinese intelligence collection ship challenged USNS Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or "suffer the consequences."
Sunday's incident near Hainan Island is reminiscent of a much more dramatic foreign policy crisis with China that played out in the same area. The forced landing of a U.S. spy plane and China's seizure of the crew in April 2001 came just four months into President George W. Bush's tenure.
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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Matthew Lee and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
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In an odd twist, the unarmed Impeccable, which is operated for the Navy by civilian mariners, turned fire hoses on one vessel that came within 50 feet of it. The Chinese crew stripped to their underwear, then closed to within 25 feet.
A Pentagon spokesman called that "immature" and said the Chinese behaved recklessly and in violation of international law.
"We view these as unprofessional maneuvers," spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
The U.S. Navy surveillance ships tow sonar equipment that probes the ocean to gather acoustic data and detect underwater threats. The craft was specifically designed to augment the Navy's anti-submarine capability, although military spokesmen would not be specific about the Impeccable's duties.
The incident came just a week after China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations following a five-month suspension over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. And it came as Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was due in Washington to meet with U.S. officials.
In Beijing, Chinese officials did not immediately respond to voicemail messages and e-mail regarding the U.S. allegations.
Pentagon officials said the incident followed "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships against the Impeccable on Wednesday and Saturday and against the USNS Victorious surveillance ship on Thursday while it operated in the Yellow Sea.
"We're going to continue to operate in those international waters, and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around that," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
A protest was lodged with the Chinese government by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing over the weekend and was repeated to a Chinese defense attache by Defense Department East Asia policy officials at a Pentagon meeting Monday.
The Chinese ships included 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.
The Chinese vessels surrounded the Impeccable, and two got close enough for the crew to see people waving Chinese flags and telling the American ship to leave, the Pentagon said in a statement. Not knowing what the Chinese intended, the Impeccable crew sprayed fire hoses at one ship in self defense, the statement said. "The Chinese crew members disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet," the statement said.
Impeccable crew radioed to tell the Chinese ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate, the Pentagon said.
But shortly afterward, two of the Chinese ships stopped directly ahead of the Impeccable, forcing it to an emergency stop. The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood in the water in front of Impeccable's path.
China views almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory. China's claims to small islets in the region have put it at odds with five governments — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Another Pentagon spokesman, Marine Maj. Stewart Upton, said U.S. Navy ships and aircraft routinely operate in the area and that Chinese ships and aircraft routinely steam or fly nearby. "However, these actions were considerably more aggressive and unprofessional than we have seen."
Pentagon officials said the close encounter followed these other incidents last week:
_On Wednesday, a Chinese Bureau of Fisheries Patrol vessel used a high-intensity spotlight to illuminate the ocean surveillance ship USNS Victorious as it operated in the Yellow Sea, about 125 nautical miles from China's coast, the Pentagon said. The next day, a Chinese Y-12 maritime surveillance aircraft conducted 12 fly-bys of Victorious at an altitude of about 400 feet and a range of 500 yards.
_On Thursday, a Chinese frigate approached USNS Impeccable without warning and crossed its bow at a close range of approximately 100 yards, the Pentagon said. This was followed less than two hours later by a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducting 11 fly-bys of Impeccable at an altitude of 600 feet and a range from 100-300 feet.
_On Saturday, a Chinese intelligence collection ship challenged USNS Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or "suffer the consequences."
Sunday's incident near Hainan Island is reminiscent of a much more dramatic foreign policy crisis with China that played out in the same area. The forced landing of a U.S. spy plane and China's seizure of the crew in April 2001 came just four months into President George W. Bush's tenure.
___
Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Matthew Lee and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
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