USNS Impeccable: Chinese Vessels Harass US Navy Ship

The USNS Impeccable is an unarmed U.S. Navy ocean surveillance ship. The U.S. embassy in Beijing has lodged a protest with China that on Sunday five Chinese ships, including a naval vessel, harassed the USNS Impeccable in international waters in the South China Sea.

The USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) is a surveillance ship that serves in international waters in the South China Sea. Her function is to serve in support of the U.S. Navy using passive and active low frequency sonar arrays to detect and track undersea threats.

Over the weekend the Impeccable was conducting routine operations about 75 miles south of Hainan Island when she was harassed by as Chinese Naval ship. There were five Chinese ships involved in the harassment. They included a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol Vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel, a Chinese Navy intelligence collection ship, and two small Chinese flagged trawlers. The ships maneuvered dangerously close to the U.S. ship, two within 25 feet.

The crew of the USNS Impeccable radioed the Chinese crews requesting safe passage to leave the area. The Chinese ships maneuvered in front of the ship and stopped almost causing a collision and forcing the Impeccable to an emergency stop. The Chinese crews continued harassing the ship, attempting to hook the sonar that trailed behind the ship. American crews turned fire hoses on the Chinese, who stripped down to their underwear and continued the harassment.

The incidents on Sunday were the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive and provocative incidents between the Chinese ships and the USNS Impeccable.

Earlier in the week, on Thursday, March 5, 2009, a Chinese frigate crossed within about 100 yards of the USNS Impeccable. Shortly after that incident a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducted 11 fly-bys of the Impeccable and her sister ship, the USNS Victorious. The two unarmed U.S. data collecting and surveillance ships were subjected to the fly-bys that came to within a 100 to 300 foot range of the ships at an altitude of 600 feet. The fly-bys were followed by the same Chinese frigate crossing Impeccable’s bow again, this time even closer, coming within 400 to 500 feet of the U.S. ship.

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, the USNS Impeccable was contacted by radio by a Chinese collection ship. The Chinese accused the Impeccable of conducting illegal operations and demanding that she leave the area or ’suffer the consequences’.

These incidents, one after the other over the last few days, are the most aggressive actions any foreign ships have taken against U.S. ships in international waters. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing has filed a complaint with the Chinese government.

“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.”

This aggressive behavior on the part of the Chinese is disturbing. It is especially disturbing in light of the threatening and aggressive rhetoric coming out of North Korea this week.

When there is a vacuum of power, then there is chaos and all the petty dictators of the world will jockey to position themselves to fill the vacuum.

It appears that world powers are sensing an opportunity to push the limits of America’s patience. China, as a world power, and North Korea, as a communist state backed by the Chinese, seem poised to test the courage of the new American President. We all hope he passes the test. Most of us fear he doesn’t have a strong sense of the danger posed by these threats or will attempt to appease rather than stop the aggression with a show of strength.

original post by Beth for Blue Star Chronicles