The United States warship and a Chinese Naval vessel nearly collides in the hotly-disputed areas of the South China Sea last week, as confirmed by a US military officials on Friday, December 13, 2013.
The guided missile cruiser, USS Cowpens, one of the international vessels who help the Philippines in the relief efforts after super typhoon Yolanda, was forced to maneuver to avoid collision with the Chinese naval ship that had crossed directly in front of it and halted, as revealed by a naval officers and defense officials.
According to a news report from ABS-CBN, the Chinese amphibious dock ship came less than 500 yards (meters) from the American warship, USS Cowpens. The defense official was quoted as saying “This encounter happened in international waters in the South China Sea on Dec. 5,” the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in an email.
“Eventually, effective bridge-to-bridge communication occurred between the US and Chinese crews, and both vessels maneuvered to ensure safe p(–foul word(s) removed–)age,” the official said.
The defense official also revealed that USS Cowpens had been “in the vicinity” of China’s new aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, when the incident occurred.
