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 Experts have said the near-miss between the USS Cowpens and a
Chinese warship operating near China's only aircraft carrier, the
Liaoning, was the most significant U.S.-China maritime incident in
the disputed South China Sea since 2009.
China's Defense Ministry said the Chinese naval vessel was
conducting "normal patrols" when the two vessels "met".
"During the encounter, the Chinese naval vessel properly handled it
in accordance with strict protocol," the ministry said on its
website (www.mod.gov.cn).
"The two Defense departments were kept informed of the relevant
situation through normal working channels and carried out effective
communication."
But China's official news agency Xinhua, in an English language
commentary, accused the U.S. ship of deliberately provocative
behavior.
"On December 5, U.S. missile cruiser Cowpens, despite warnings from
China's aircraft carrier task group, broke into the Chinese navy's
drilling waters in the South China Sea, and almost collided with a
Chinese warship nearby," it said.
"Even before the navy training, Chinese maritime authorities have
posted a navigation notice on their website, and the U.S. warship,
which should have had knowledge of what the Chinese were doing
there, intentionally carried on with its surveillance of China's
Liaoning aircraft carrier and triggered the confrontation."
Washington said last week its ship was forced to take evasive action
to avoid a collision.
The incident came at a time of heightened tension in the region
following Beijing's declaration of an air Defense identification
zone further north in the East China Sea, which prompted protests
from Washington, Tokyo and Seoul.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said maritime disputes
between countries should be resolved peacefully through arbitration
though the United States would speak out when a country, such as
China, took unilateral action that raised the potential for
conflict.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Kerry and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been equally critical of
the air Defense zone, should stop harping on the issue.
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"The show the relevant parties have put on is enough. They should
give it a rest. If they really care about this region's peace, they
should ... stop fomenting trouble," she told a daily news briefing.
China's Defense Ministry said, however, there were "good
opportunities" for developing Sino-U.S. military ties.
"Both sides are willing to strengthen communication, maintain close
coordination and make efforts to maintain regional peace and
stability," the ministry said.
The Liaoning aircraft carrier, which has yet to be fully armed and
is being used as a training vessel, was flanked by escort ships,
including two destroyers and two frigates, during its first
deployment into the South China Sea.
Friction over the South China Sea has surged as China uses its
growing naval might to assert a vast claim over the oil-and-gas-rich
area, raising fears of a clash between it and other countries in the
region, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
The United States had raised the incident at a "high level" with
China, according to a State Department official quoted by the U.S.
military's Stars and Stripes newspaper.
Beijing routinely objects to U.S. military surveillance operations
within its exclusive economic zone, while Washington insists the
United States and other nations have the right to conduct routine
operations in international waters.
China deployed the Liaoning to the South China Sea just days after
announcing its air Defense zone, which covers air space over a group
of tiny uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that are
administered by Japan but claimed by Beijing as well.
(Additional reporting by Hui Li and Ben Blanchard;
editing by
Clarence Fernandez)
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