The Web posting said the Chinese ship videotaped the encounter and posted it online as a way to « expose the activity. » Photos of the Impeccable indicate they were taken on June 21. The Chinese ship also warned the Navy vessel it was operating « illegally » despite being in undisclosed international waters. The Chinese also said the ship was not a « noncombatant » ship. « The American vessel USNS Impeccable is far from being a noncombatant, » the Chinese posting stated. « The Impeccable is one of five American surveillance ships equipped with passive and active low-frequency towed-array sonar, and it is effective at detecting submarines, directly serving the American naval fleet by doing so. » The Navy is stepping up surveillance of China’s submarine force, which has expanded by more than 50 submarines in the past two decades.
The Sinocism posting stated that the U.S. ship was within 100 nautical miles of the Chinese coast and that China had not granted permission for it to operate in that region. The Chinese photos appear to have been taken by a cellphone camera from a distance of about 10,000 yards. Analysts suggested the Chinese were engaged in long-distance countersurveillance, thus raising questions about Chinese claims of a « fierce » encounter. A video of the confrontation posted on another website shows a Chinese security officer on ship speaking into a microphone and demanding that the U.S. ship must first get China’s permission to be in the area.
An unidentified U.S. official was then heard in the radio message as saying the Impeccable was operating legally in international waters. (The video can be viewed at cjdby.net/redianzhuizong/2013-07 -04/military-4476.html.) (…) Asked about an increase in Chinese naval activity around Guam and Hawaii, in apparent retaliation for U.S. naval spying on China, Adm. Locklear, head of U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States and China disagree on U.N. definitions of controlled waters.
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