U.S.+ship+harrased+by+Chinese+vessals

· **U.S. ship harassed by Chinese vessels.** **Mar. 9, 2009** · According to the Pentagon Chinese ships harassed USNS Impeccable March 8,2009, in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in international waters in the South China Sea, the latest of several instances of "increasingly aggressive conduct. · The crew members aboard the vessels, two of which were within 50 feet, waved Chinese flags and told the U.S. ship to leave the area. Chinese crew members used poles to try to snag the Impeccable's acoustic equipment in the water. They dropped pieces of wood in the water directly in front of Impeccable's path. · Because the vessels' intentions were not known, Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels in order to protect itself. The Chinese crewmembers disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet. · After the Impeccable alerted the Chinese ships "in a friendly manner" that it was seeking a safe path to depart the area, two of the Chinese ships stopped "directly ahead of USNS Impeccable, forcing Impeccable to conduct an emergency 'all stop' in order to avoid collision. · **USA**: USNS Impeccable; The Impeccable's crew is composed primarily of civilians and the ship itself is not armed, The 281.5-foot Impeccable is one of six surveillance ships that perform military survey operations, according to the [|Navy]. It is an oceanographic ship that gathers underwater acoustic data, using sonar. · **China**: The Chinese ships involved were a Navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol Vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers. There were no stories about the incident in Chinese media. · The Pentagon cited three previous instances of what it described as harassment, the first of which occurred, when a Chinese Bureau of Fisheries Patrol vessel used a spotlight to illuminate the ocean surveillance ship USNS Victorious. · In that incident, which occurred about 125 miles from [|China] 's coast in the Yellow Sea, the Chinese ship "crossed Victorious' bow at a range of about 1,400 yards" in darkness without notice or warning. The following day, a Chinese Y-12 maritime surveillance aircraft conducted 12 fly-bys of Victorious at an altitude of about 400 feet and a range of 500 yards. · The next day, a Chinese frigate approached Impeccable and proceeded to cross its bow at a range of approximately 100 yards," which was followed less than two hours later by a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducting 11 fly-bys of Impeccable at an altitude of 600 feet and a range of 100 to 300 feet, The frigate then crossed Impeccable's bow yet again, this time at a range of approximately 400-500 yards without rendering courtesy or notice of her intentions a Chinese intelligence collection ship challenged Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or 'suffer the consequences, according to the Pentagon.
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