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Five Chinese ships have maneuvered dangerously close to an unarmed 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 maneuvered” 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. 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). 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.
Do “unarmed” US Naval Ships actually exist? I’ll bet there is more to this story that will never be told.
Looks like the US got caught spying.
“Do “unarmed” US Naval Ships actually exist? I’ll bet there is more to this story that will never be told.”
Yes, there are many unarmed naval vessels. The story is pretty simple really. The Chinese have done this type thing before. They wouldn’t try this against an armed ship.
# 1 Thelion1856 said, “Looks like the US got caught spying.”
You can’t “spy” in international waters.
Makes me wonder how many times my DVD player was tea bagged on the assembly line.
At least it wasn’t in the Gulf of Tonkin
I don’t believe any thing the US or Chinese have to say about this.
#2. I am fairly certain that all US Military vessels are armed…even if they are small arms. At least from my experience in the CG.
# 6 McCullough said, “I am fairly certain that all US Military vessels are armed…even if they are small arms.”
Small arms are NOT vessel armaments. There is a major difference. But, you would know that from being an ex coastie…
#1,
It’s called ‘listening in’ but you got it correct otherwise.
unarmed navel vessel? HA!
Dare say, this wouldn’t be the first time a half naked Chinese has tossed his wood at an American sailor.
#7. Yes, we kept the 50 cal. in the locker until needed. It was easy to mount.
Boy that was a close one. For a minute I thought they were going to say they threw their shoes at them.
NUCLEAR WAR!
I wonder if it’s true what they say about Chinese men? Probably the first question asked in the debriefing.
What would the US Government think if the Chinese were trolling for US subs just off the US coast!
6 & 7, Coast Guard?!?!?!?!?!? The Navy calls them shallow-water sailors. They don’t count. LOL.
my guess
The US was listening in on the Chinese probably in international waters but it doesn’t really matter we have great toys for listening.
The Chinese didn’t want us there “listening” at that time or just wanted to practice trying to get us to move along for some future time when they wouldn’t want us nearby. They had some sailors go out in fishing boats with orders to annoy us or just paid some real fishermen to harass the US ship. After the Cole tragedy this technique might be more successful.
The US knowing they could listen just as well from another location moved the ship, might have even let the Sub have that site.
If it was in international waters both Naves will send a Destroyer or some thing out to the area parade around like a dog pissing on a bush to mark territory.
This sort of thing is not unusual.
I would imagine it would be unarmed if it was spying. I remember the spy planes being unarmed too. Its so that the US can claim the ship is non offensive in these situations.
Again like Iran its another test of what is international water’s. What I do not like is all the saber ratling going on with Nort Korea, China and Iran. Those are pretty good odds that one will push are button on something.
# 14 JWMcGregor said, “What would the US Government think if the Chinese were trolling for US subs just off the US coast!”
Probably the same thing we did when the Russians did that. Nothing.
Not to worry fellas, The Messiah has this one covered. The Chinkcomms make one wrong move, He will unleash a mighty speech of such epic ferocity and touching sincerity that they will stand in star-struck awe and meekly surrender to our WMB, Weapon of Mass Boredom.
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr74/cbleyte/SURTASS_LFA.jpg
Guess it wasn’t the US Navy that was caught with its pants down..
Thankfully it did not end as the USS Pueblo did.
>> Do “unarmed” US Naval Ships actually exist? I’ll bet there is more to this story that will never be told.
It’s obviously a spy ship, right?
Just like they spy airplane that the Chinese downed after Bush Jr. took office.
It’s amazing how often the media leave out a central detail to a story.
I know how to get those Chinese back.
America should start making its own crap again.
These particular ships collect data for antisubmarine warfare.
#25 good idea but you forgot our corporations in their usatiable greed have moved all the tools & machines to China and closed down 90% of factories here for good quite long time ago.
We’d really have to start all over from scratch, from the ground up, if we want to make even stupid plastic toys domestically.
Not to mention our “green eco-friendly” laws probably would forbade constructing any such heavy pollutinon industry again anyways. So yeah, all you can do is just dream on about stuff “Made in USA” and “buy American”.
I bet that the last stronghold – car industry – will grab & run away with our monies to Asia as soon as they get a whiff of Obama’s “recovery package” 😀
In the checkbooks it will still look good – their profit will increase, hence WE will save these companies – and in theory they’d still be US companies 😉 Only they people working for them won’t be Americans anymore, but shareholders don’t care about such unimportant details.
I doubt anyone, not even most patriotic Americans, will invest in any dirty industry in USA ever again – not when same things exist and are being made 5x cheaper in China and India (even if we pretend economy is in good shape, unlike nowaday), without the burden of eco-terrorists, blown out of proportions retirements plans, unionized mobsters, and most importantly without the gullible, lazy and always underpaid in their opinion prol workforce.
The ship is designed to support sonar arrays. It is a maintenance ship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USNS_Impeccable_(T-AGOS-23)
We used to play games like this with soviet vessels back in my day. Nothing new about it, dangerous and reckless? No more than most military activity. I remember once going to the hangar bay at sunrise on the USS Ranger in the indian ocean and right there at the aircraft elevator opening was hovering a small soviet helicopter. They were busy taking photos, so I flashed them the moon, and showed them my middle fingers and danced around a bit. I miss the cold war sometimes…
according to details, she has a civilian contractor crew, so unarmed makes sense.
But why alone? Should be at least a frigate with her.
#29
You showed them damn commies 😉