Pentagon: Chinese Vessels Harassed Unarmed Navy Ship

[n2doc]

By PAULINE JELINEK
The Associated Press
Monday, March 9, 2009; 9:59 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon says Chinese ships shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close to a U.S. Navy vessel in what appeared to be an effort to harass the American crew.

The Obama administration is protesting to the Chinese government. The protest will be delivered to Beijing's military attache on Monday.

The Defense Department said in a statement that a Chinese intelligence ship and several others surrounded the USNS Impeccable, an unarmed vessel with a civilian merchant marine crew. The U.S. vessel was conducting ocean surveys Sunday in international waters in the South China Sea.

The statement said the Navy sprayed one ship with water from fire hoses to force it away and the Chinese crew members stripped to their underwear and continued closing within 25 feet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030900956.html?hpid=topnews

Hoo boy, just what both our countries need....

[theoldman]

1. Spy versus Spy.

At least they did not kill each other.

[Captain Hilts]

2. So, what's with stripping down to your skivvies about? nt

[haele]

3. It's mooning the other guys...

High spirits, thumbing noses, and all that. The other crew was showing that they weren't "hostile", but that they (or more importantly, their officers)felt they could take us whenever they wanted to.

It's game playing, which is unusual for the usually very disciplined Chinese navy.
It's one thing when you're barely in international waters, and one of a group of female sailors standing on the boat deck looking at the (then Soviet) AGI sneaking off the starboard stearn decides to make a play on the term "Breasting the Ship" - that's one sailor having "fun". It's another thing when a majority of the other ship's crew heads out and shows themselves in skivvies. That's a captain making a statement.

Haele