Chinese ships harass US Navy vessel: Pentagon

Several Chinese ships manoeuvred dangerously close to an unarmed US Navy ship in international waters, the Pentagon said on Monday. "This was a reckless, dangerous manoeuvre that was unprofessional" and violated international law, Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
He said the United States would be conveying its "displeasure" to the Chinese government over the incident, which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Hainan Island. One of the Chinese vessels came within 25 feet and at one point the Chinese crew stripped to their underwear, he said. The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood into the water in the path of the American ship, he said.
The small Chinese vessels, which resembled fishing boats, had no apparent military markings, according to photos Whitman showed to reporters. The American ship, the USNS Impeccable, is a surveillance ship that gathers "underwater acoustical data," he said.