Semi-naked Chinese agression.

[RandomGuy]

The Chinese have their own very nationalistic streak, and this was a fair example of that.

Executive summary:
Chinese ships, military and otherwise, harass a US surveillance ship in international waters near a politically sensitive island.

(Oh, yeah, the Chinese sailors were in their underwear.):lol

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five Chinese ships including a Chinese naval vessel harassed a U.S. Navy ship in the South China Sea on Sunday, at one point closing to within 25 feet of the ocean surveillance ship, the Pentagon said.

A Defense Department statement said the Chinese vessels "shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity" to the USS Impeccable, which was conducting routine operations in international waters 75 miles south of Hainan Island.

The Pentagon identified the Chinese vessels as a Navy intelligence ship, a bureau of maritime fisheries patrol vessel, a state oceanographic administration patrol vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers.

The Pentagon said the U.S. ship was operated by a civilian crew under contract with the Defense Department and accused the Chinese vessels of violating international law.

"We will be certainly letting the Chinese officials know of our displeasure with respect to this careless and reckless, unprofessional ... maneuver," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

Two Chinese vessels surrounded the Impeccable, while two closed to within 50 feet waving Chinese flags and telling the U.S. Navy ship to leave, the statement said.

The Navy ship responded by spraying one of the vessels with its fire hoses, but the Chinese ship closed further to within 25 feet and its crew members disrobed to their underwear, the Pentagon said.

It said the Impeccable informed the Chinese ships by radio that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate. But two of the Chinese vessels stopped directly in front of the U.S. ship and dropped pieces of wood in its path.

"The unprofessional maneuvers by Chinese vessels violated the requirement under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean," Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Major Stewart Upton said in a statement.

"We expect Chinese ships to act responsibly and refrain from provocative activities that could lead to miscalculation or a collision at sea."

The Pentagon said the incident was preceded by days of increasingly aggressive conduct by Chinese vessels.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Gray, Editing by Sandra Maler)


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:lmao

I don't feel any sense of real outrage about this, just to be clear. I think the Chinese acted a wee bit out of line, and definitely a bit silly, tho'.

It is just kinda funny.

[DarkReign]

I'd a put the hoses to 'em, too. Hopefully knock a couple of them overboard. See how fucking funny that is...

[peewee's lovechild]

I say we go to war with China and take all ther Gen. Tso Chicken.

[RandomGuy]

I'd a put the hoses to 'em, too. Hopefully knock a couple of them overboard. See how fucking funny that is...

Many/most Chinese alive today have been raised on a rather steady diet of nationalistic propaganda, and a lot of that has been aimed at the traditionally perceived enemies, Russia and the USA.

They have thawed somewhat with Russia, seeing a strategic partner to balance the US, but still see us as somewhat of a threat.

You may remember the Chinese jet fighter collision with a US intelligence aircraft a few years back.

Local commanders get a bug up their butt to "show up" the americans, and this kind of stupid shit is the result.

Dangerous to be sure.

[DarkReign]

Local commanders get a bug up their butt to "show up" the americans, and this kind of stupid shit is the result.

Dangerous to be sure.

Seriously dumb on their part, IMO. Provoking a naval vessel (commanded by civilian personel on contract with DoD or not) is very, very dumb thing to do in international waters.

Mind you, if the vessel was in Chinese waters, thats just part of the job and youre going to have to deal with it.

International? You get the hose or worse.

[Destro]

me chinese me play joke

[balli]

Awesome.

[1369]

Seamen shooting stuff through their hoses? There's a joke in there somewhere.

Wonder if the chinamen showed them their junk.

[balli]

Last night was movie night on the Chinese vessel. They watched Braveheart.

[TDMVPDPOY]

on hainan the chinese have base there also

fkn 12 nuke submarines if im not mistaken....they want the whole china sea to themselves and more sea territory, and watever island is not patrolled, they will claim it as theirs by flexing the power be leaving a submarine there.....

[peewee's lovechild]

I feel like eating some Lo Mein now.

[RandomGuy]

on hainan the chinese have base there also

fkn 12 nuke submarines if im not mistaken....they want the whole china sea to themselves and more sea territory, and watever island is not patrolled, they will claim it as theirs by flexing the power be leaving a submarine there.....

As I said before, we should all be worried by the nationalistic streak of the Chinese propaganda machine.

There is no small number of people in China who are seriously hard-core nationalists, and that should worry you a bit.

I hope China's entry on the world stage will damp that somewhat.

[TDMVPDPOY]

As I said before, we should all be worried by the nationalistic streak of the Chinese propaganda machine.

There is no small number of people in China who are seriously hard-core nationalists, and that should worry you a bit.

I hope China's entry on the world stage will damp that somewhat.

vietnam has already loss 2 islands parcel islands to these clowns due to an agreement b4 the vn war under the norths regime.....they just gave up more land to these clowns. A fkn puppet govt afraid to do anything.

Look at the buildup of personnel that might be going into tibet.....a state that doesnt even have an army lmao...fkn chine always picking on the little countries with nothing....

[Chief]

Many/most Chinese alive today have been raised on a rather steady diet of nationalistic propaganda, and a lot of that has been aimed at the traditionally perceived enemies, Russia and the USA.

They have thawed somewhat with Russia, seeing a strategic partner to balance the US, but still see us as somewhat of a threat.

You may remember the Chinese jet fighter collision with a US intelligence aircraft a few years back.

Local commanders get a bug up their butt to "show up" the americans, and this kind of stupid shit is the result.

Dangerous to be sure.

or it could be as simple as the Chinese in their opinion thinking the vessel was in their waters, an area of the ocean they dispute is their territor ?.
what would we do if some chinese vessels were in international waters off the pacific coast of the usa

[TDMVPDPOY]

or it could be as simple as the Chinese in their opinion thinking the vessel was in their waters, an area of the ocean they dispute is their territor ?.
what would we do if some chinese vessels were in international waters off the pacific coast of the usa

all they are doing is flexing there muscles with countries that border the south china sea....and those countries are doing shit all....china is just exploiting that area for more exploration....while giving them smaller countries kickbacks to stfu and dont worry what we are doing in these waters.....

[peewee's lovechild]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/officials-us-ship-in-chin_n_173715.html


U.S. ship in China spat was hunting subs

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy ship that got into a scrape with five Chinese vessels last weekend in the South China Sea was looking for threats such as submarines _ presumably Chinese _ in waters that China claims as its own, defense officials acknowledged Tuesday.

The United States maintains that the unarmed USNS Impeccable was operating legally in international waters when it was surrounded and harassed by the Chinese. Beijing responded hotly to a U.S. protest over Sunday's incident, and neither nation is backing down, even as they prepare for a much-anticipated first meeting between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao next month.

Although they would not be specific about the Impeccable's mission when it was intercepted by the Chinese ships, two defense officials said the ship is designed and equipped for sub-hunting work and was part of a calculated U.S. surveillance operation in the disputed South China Sea.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the ship's exact capabilities are sensitive. Other U.S. officials have said on the record that the U.S. military will continue to patrol in the South China Sea despite Chinese objections.

A senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday the confrontation was the most serious episode between the two nations since 2001, when tensions rose over an in-flight collision between a U.S. and a Chinese plane.

"They seem to be more militarily aggressive," National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I think the debate is still on in China whether as their military power increases they will be used for good or for pushing people around."

The surveillance ship tows a sonar apparatus that scans and listens for foreign threats that also include mines and torpedoes. The sonar array was deployed at the time of the confrontation, and a U.S. account says Chinese mariners tried to snag it with poles.

The ship is operated by a civilian crew under Navy supervision. It is not a warship or, strictly speaking, a spy ship. Its work is part of a largely unseen cat and mouse game in which the United States tracks foreign submarines on the open seas.

In this case, the sub-hunting took place in a disputed band of water far off the Chinese coastline but within what Beijing considers a 200-mile economic zone under its control. The zone, under international law, gives a state certain rights over the use of natural resources there. That clashes with one of the cardinal principles of America's doctrine of ocean navigation _ the right to unrestricted passage in international waters as long as vessels are not encroaching on the economic interests of the country they pass.

"It is our view that we were operating in international waters," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Tuesday.

While the U.S. has offered talks on the issue, neither side appears willing to compromise.

"The Chinese do the same thing. It's just that they don't do it around us," said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on the Chinese military and U.S.-Chinese relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Glaser said the two nations need a better rule book for the disputed area, but she predicted that both countries will try to make sure the diplomatic sniping over the Impeccable doesn't go too far.

Analysts also noted that the incident, capping a string of provocations in the South China Sea, comes as China nears announcement that it will expand its naval capabilities. China this week also unveiled its plans for a nearly 15 percent increase in defense spending this year.

China will have an aircraft carrier "very soon," a top Chinese naval officer told a newspaper last week, fueling speculation over a pending official announcement on the long-awaited project. Meanwhile, a State Department official said Tuesday that the Obama administration was considering whether to raise the matter with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who was due in Washington on Wednesday to meet with U.S. diplomats.

U.S. defense officials had said the Chinese boats veered so close to the Impeccable that the U.S. civilian crew had to spray one Chinese vessel with a high-pressure stream of water. Stripped to their drenched underwear, the Chinese crew came within 25 feet. When the Impeccable tried to withdraw, U.S. officials said, Chinese boats veered in its path and dropped debris in the water.

___

Associated Press writer Pamela Hess contributed to this report.

[Bartleby]

I thought this thread was going to be about GN'R's next album.

[word]

It rubs the lotion on its skin else it gets the hose again.