Chinese warships in standoff with AEGIS cruiser USS Cowpens, Dec.13, 2013

[CougarKing]

The South China Sea/Spratlys in the news again.

Chinese Naval Vessel Tries to Force U.S. Warship to Stop in International Waters

Article
A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials.

The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident.

“On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a Navy official said.

“This incident underscores the need to ensure the highest standards of professional seamanship, including communications between vessels, to mitigate the risk of an unintended incident or mishap.”

A State Department official said the U.S. government issued protests to China in both Washington and Beijing in both diplomatic and military channels.

The Cowpens was conducting surveillance of the Liaoning at the time. The carrier had recently sailed from the port of Qingdao on the northern Chinese coast into the South China Sea.

According to the officials, the run-in began after a Chinese navy vessel sent a hailing warning and ordered the Cowpens to stop. The cruiser continued on its course and refused the order because it was operating in international waters.

Then a Chinese tank landing ship sailed in front of the Cowpens and stopped, forcing the Cowpens to abruptly change course in what the officials said was a dangerous maneuver.

According to the officials, the Cowpens was conducting a routine operation done to exercise its freedom of navigation near the Chinese carrier when the incident occurred about a week ago.

The encounter was the type of incident that senior Pentagon officials recently warned could take place as a result of heightened tensions in the region over China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea.

The rest of the story...

Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Cowpens

One can also find this story at the
Washington Times

 

[V_I_Lenin]

Another close call in the South China Sea? Reads like a slow-motion version of this past incident:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

 

[tomahawk6]

I wonder if the PLAN will try to board and seize a USN warship ?

 

[Halifax Tar]

The DPRK did

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_(AGER-2)

 

[winnipegoo7]

The ROK did

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_(AGER-2)

The Pueblo was seized by North Korea.

ROK =  Republic of Korea = South Korea
DPRK =  Democratic People's Republic of Korea = North Korea

 

[Halifax Tar]

The Pueblo was seized by North Korea.

ROK =  Republic of Korea = South Korea
DPRK =  Democratic People's Republic of Korea = North Korea

Woops thank you for the correction

 

[CougarKing]

Analysis in retrospect from the Diplomat.com:

How the US Lost the South China Sea Standoff

China won the Cowpens/Liaoning encounter in the South China Sea. What lessons should the US draw?
By James R. Holmes
December 19, 2013

The Diplomat.com

So who won the December 5 encounter between the Aegis cruiser USS Cowpens and the ships escorting aircraft carrier Liaoning? Sad to say, methinks this round goes to China’s navy. So, evidently, does Beijing, which has struck an upbeat note since the press disclosed the near-collision last week. Magnanimity bespeaks comfort with the outcome.

Think about it. PLA Navy vessels barred Cowpens, one of the U.S. Navy’s premier surface combatants, from what Chinese spokesmen call an “inner defense layer” centered on Liaoning. Inner defense layer? Forsooth. This exclusion zone was a circle with a diameter at least 60 miles across. It spanned over 2,800 square miles. To use a yardstick wearisomely familiar to us Rhode Islanders, that’s over twice the area of our beloved Ocean State. After the American warship maneuvered radically to avoid colliding with a PLA Navy amphibious transport that crossed her bow at close quarters, officers on board the two ships reportedly conferred by radio. Cowpens then left the proscribed area.

Here’s how Xinhua describes the encounter: “U.S. missile cruiser Cowpens, despite warnings from China’s aircraft carrier task group, broke into the Chinese navy’s drilling waters in the South China Sea, and almost collided with a Chinese warship nearby.” Get the cause/effect relationship being alleged here? American ship “breaks into” Chinese formation, as though its crew jimmied the lock on a gate. Clumsily, it almost hits a Chinese ship. American ship is warned to leave. American ship leaves. Score one for the forces of truth, justice, and the Chinese Communist way!!! That’s the tale Chinese officialdom is spinning: that the PLA Navy can sketch an area far larger than any naval formation, forbid others to enter that area, and drive off anyone uppity enough to intrude.

< Edited >

 

[tomahawk6]

Short of firing on the PLAN ships the cruiser chose to de-escalate the situation.

 

[brihard]

So.... Basically the Chinese did what any US force would likewise do- drive off another nations vessel that was dicking around with a carrier group. No real surprise there. America cannot be all powerful in all places at all times. It simply can't afford to. Regional powers will be able to exert their own small bubbles from time to time. I'm not fussed by this.

 

[Robert0288]

Its also hard to loose a game of chicken when you are willing to collide with the other guy and still count it as a win.  Which is probably why it was an old Chinese landing ship which intercepted the American cruiser.

 

[Edward Campbell]

:goodpost:

Very insightful. As you say, the Chinese couldn't lose this one and, conversely, the US could only win by, in some eyes, backing down.

Smart moves on both sides.

I expect the US will continue to probe and the Chinese will continue to counter such probes.

 

[Jarnhamar]

So.... Basically the Chinese did what any US force would likewise do- drive off another nations vessel that was dicking around with a carrier group. No real surprise there.

My thoughts exactly.