China Testing the Waters?

[unhappycamper]

China Testing the Waters?
March 10, 2009
Associated Press

BEIJING - China responded sharply Tuesday to Washington's accusations over a confrontation at sea, an incident that analysts said could become more typical as Beijing beefs up its navy and asserts claims to adjacent waters.

The U.S. accused Chinese ships of surrounding and harassing its Navy vessel in international waters, coming within 25 feet (8 meters) of the USNS Impeccable and strewing debris in its path.

But China's Foreign Ministry said the American boat "broke international and Chinese laws in the South China Sea without China's permission."

The incident this past Sunday will likely be discussed when Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits Washington this week. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing lodged a protest with the Foreign Ministry and said the Impeccable had been conducting "routine operations ... in accordance with customary international law."

The episode, the latest in a series of confrontations between U.S. surveillance craft and Chinese coastal defenses, took place in international waters in the South China Sea about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of China's Hainan Island.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/031009/china-testing-the-waters.html?col=1186032310810