Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 4162483" data-attributes="member: 92282"><img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/3/13/1236945865418/US-surveillance-ship-Impe-002.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The US surveillance ship Impeccable in the South China Sea. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images<img src="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00500/chinese_500825a.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Military tensions between the US and China are under threat of escalating after Barack Obama diverted a destroyer to protect a US ship which the Pentagon claims was being harassed by Chinese boats.The heavily armed USS Chung-Hoon is now escorting the US navy surveillance ship Impeccable, which found itself at the centre of a naval standoff in the South China Sea earlier in the week.On Sunday, five Chinese vessels surrounded the unarmed ship amid claims it was on a spying mission in Chinese waters.Pentagon officials said the boats had come within 8 metres (25ft) of the Impeccable, forcing its civilian crew to take emergency action.The Impeccable turned its high-pressure water hoses on the Chinese crew, who then stripped to their underwear as they dropped wood and other debris into the water to block the ship's progress.Washington lodged formal protests with Beijing after the incident.China rejected the protests, saying the US had provoked the standoff by conducting illegal surveying activities in one of China's exclusive economic zones.Washington claimed the confrontation happened in international waters.Yesterday, a Pentagon official said: "The USS Chung-Hoon is there, in the area, keeping an eye on Impeccable, which continues its lawful military operations."The Hawaii-based destroyer, with a crew of about 275, was in the region for a regularly scheduled deployment and was diverted to the escort mission, the official said. "It's not like we specially deployed another ship," he said.The arrival of the destroyer underlines the Pentagon's determination to continue with the surveillance mission, which Beijing claims is to monitor China's expanding fleet of submarines south of Hainan island.The heightened US-China tensions came as the US president met with the Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, at the White House. The two leaders called for strengthening co-operation to build "a positive and constructive" relationship, according to a White House statement.Obama stressed "the importance of raising the level and frequency of the US-China military-to-military dialogue in order to avoid future incidents", the statement said.The national security adviser James Jones raised the incident at an earlier meeting with Yang, according to the statement.Pentagon officials did not say whether such escorts would now be routine for surveillance ships in the area, but they suggested it would continue for the duration of the Impeccable's current operation.On Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said: "The US claims are gravely in contravention of the facts and confuse black and white, and they are totally unacceptable to China."We demand that the United States put an immediate stop to related activities and take effective measures to prevent similar acts from happening."The episode complicates fragile military relations between the US and China, which appeared to have improved after the two held defence talks in Beijing last month.Military ties between the two superpowers were reinstated in February after China froze all exchanges with the US last October in protest at a $6.5bn US arms sale to Taiwan.This is the most serious incident between the two countries since 2001, when a US spy plane collided with a Chinese F-8 jet over the South China sea, killing the fighter pilot.Relations have since thawed and a "hotline" between the Chinese defence ministry and the Pentagon has been established. It was not used during or after Sunday's standoff.guardian</blockquote>

Verification: Winadiyakata thappara keeyak tibeda?

Top Bottom