China did it again.
Two Chinese fishing vessels veered dangerously close to a U.S. Navy intelligence-gathering ship, the USNS Victorious, as it moved peacefully in international waters, according to the U.S. government.
The Chinese government claimed the threatening action, part of a series of provocative and risky confrontations with American warships, was because the ship was in what China claims is its exclusive economic zone in the Yellow Sea, according to the official Xinhua government news agency.
“The Victorious conducted activities in China’s exclusive economic zone in the Yellow Sea without China’s permission. China has expressed concern over this issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.
But the American diplomatic agency, the State Department, took a diametrically opposite stance on the issue, saying the Chinese action was dangerous and a violation of international norms guaranteeing safe passage on the seas.
Chinese vessels earlier has harassed another U.S. Navy intelligence ship in international waters, the Impeccable, including threatening maneuvers such as swerving in front of the American vessel and stopping suddenly.
For years, China has attempted to drive the U.S. Navy ships and aircraft out of Asian waters and airspace.
In 2001, for example, a Chinese fighter plane came dangerously close to a U.S. Navy intelligence aircraft, then slammed into it. The heavily damaged plane, barely able to fly, made an emergency distress radio call, then made an emergency landing on Hainan Island, part of China. There, Chinese forces captured the two dozen U.S. Navy men and women in uniform, and ransacked their plane, attempting to discover U.S. military secrets.
The crew was held for 10 days until China forced the United States to apologize, “very sorry … very sorry” for those crew members having saved their own lives by landing the plane on Hainan Island.
While the United States has protested that incident and the recent harassment of U.S. ships, China is obstinate in continuing to flout international rules.
“We demand that the United States take effective measures to prevent similar acts from happening,” Ma said.
China further is assembling missile and other hardware to challenge U.S. Navy dominance in Asian waters. (Please see story in this issue.)