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Chinese Ships Harass Unarmed US Ships

Quote:

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Five Chinese vessels shadowed and aggressively maneuvered close to the USNS Impeccable in the South China Sea March 8, a senior Pentagon official said March 9.

The U.S. oceanographic ship was 70 miles south of Hainan Island conducting routine operations in international waters when the ships approached, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

"We view these as unprofessional maneuvers by the Chinese vessels and violations under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean," Whitman said.

A civilian crew mans the ship, which operates under the auspices of the Military Sealift Command.

The incident began as the ships surrounded the Impeccable and two craft closed to within 50 feet, Whitman said. 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.

Crewmen aboard the Impeccable used fire hoses to spray one of the vessels as a protective measure. The Chinese crewmembers disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet.

The Chinese vessels dropped pieces of wood in the water directly in the Impeccable's path, and two of the ships stopped directly in the U.S. vessel's path, forcing it to stop.

Whitman said the Chinese used poles in an attempt to snag the Impeccable's towed acoustic array sonars. Impeccable's master used bridge-to-bridge radio circuits to inform the Chinese ships in a friendly manner that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate.

"These are dangerous close maneuvers that these vessels engaged in," Whitman said.

The incident was the culmination of earlier harassment. A Chinese patrol vessel shined a high-intensity spotlight March 4 on the USNS Victorious operating in the Yellow Sea 125 miles from China's coast. Chinese maritime aircraft "buzzed" the ship 12 times March 5.

A Chinese frigate crossed the bow of the Impeccable at a range of about 100 yards March 5. Maritime aircraft buzzed the ship after that incident.

Another Chinese ship challenged Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio March 7, calling its operations illegal and directing the American ship to leave the area or "suffer the consequences," officials said.

The Impeccable is one of six surveillance ships that gather underwater acoustical data, Whitman said. U.S. ships routinely operate in the area.

"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," a Defense Department official said.

U.S. embassy officials lodged a protest against these actions with the Foreign Ministry in China, and Defense Department officials have protested with the Chinese embassy here.

For more news from the fleet, visit www.navy.mil.

This sort of action can easily create an uproar, if only the media would cover this sort of stuff.

Looks like the landlords are getting hostile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leogeddon (Post 678633)

Crewmen aboard the Impeccable used fire hoses to spray one of the vessels as a protective measure. The Chinese crewmembers disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet.

Yeah, if I'd been on board the Impeccable, at this point I'd recommend to the captain that we GTFO one way or another. :o

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThirdMarioBro (Post 678739)

Looks like the landlords are getting hostile.

Quote:

The U.S. oceanographic ship was 70 miles south of Hainan Island conducting routine operations in international waters when the ships approached, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Doesn't int'l waters mean everyone can come and play?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leogeddon (Post 678633)

This sort of action can easily create an uproar, if only the media would cover this sort of stuff.

yeah. Let's go to war with China. Good Plan. Better learn Mandarin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katie (Post 679033)

yeah. Let's go to war with China. Good Plan. Better learn Mandarin.

Numbers don't insure victory. Ask the Aztecs :-P

Two words.

Korean War

There's a reason that this war is not technically over.

The Aztecs are a whole other ball of wax. I'm pretty sure the Chinese would not think we were gods....and I'm pretty sure the Chinese government would not cozy themselves up to the US so much that their own people would turn on them (like Montezuma did with the Spanish)

Also no disparity in military strength.

Numbers + similar technology = Not a good thing for the US to start messing with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katie (Post 679039)

Yeah but if they took us down, whos products would they make knock offs of? :-P Seriously though...I'd imagine they would risk FAR too much economically if they went to war with us. Their industry is completely dependent on the US.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon_Turtle (Post 679040)

I thought, it was like, the other way round.

Also, why isn't this thread already locked? I thought political sh*t was banned on this board.

The topic itself isn't political, but the discussion is. Let's steer away from that, shall we?

Well, I suppose it's OK to mention that one country's harrassment or deliberate attack upon another country's ship is meant to send a harsh message of some sort. The public may not know, but people in the world's governments can usually figure it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon_Turtle (Post 679040)

We're completely dependent on them. We made the dumb mistake to give them half our jobs, and we owe all this money from the Iraq war to them. Going to war is the dumbest thing both sides could do. Plus, we have enough wars already. And those are going soooooo well.

don't worry the norwegian army can stop the harassment... no wait. We don't have an army thanks to our politicians