海角大神

A daily roundup on terrorism and security issues.

China confirmed today that one of their naval vessels and a US warship nearly collided earlier this month in the South China Sea, in what analysts say is one of the most significant US-China military encounters in the region in years.聽

A Chinese naval ship 鈥渃onducting normal patrols encountered a U.S. military vessel in the South China Sea,鈥� a statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of National Defense today read. 鈥淭hroughout the encounter, the Chinese naval ship handled the situation properly in strict accordance with operating regulations.鈥�

Pentagon officials said last week that on Dec. 5, the USS Cowpens was 鈥渓awfully operating鈥� when it was forced to abruptly maneuver to avoid colliding with the Chinese ship.

China鈥檚 defense ministry statement appeared to try and downplay the incident, reports The New York Times, by 鈥渞efrain[ing] from alleging any improper conduct by the American warship and said that military relations between China and the United States 鈥榝ace a good opportunity for development.鈥� 鈥�

A translation of the Defense Ministry statement provided by the New York Times reads:

A commentary published today in China鈥檚 official Xinhua news agency, however, took a more aggressive tone:

While the Xinhua editorial also noted that Washington 鈥渉as to understand鈥� the right of China to grow its national defense capabilities, it also called for enhanced communication channels, saying that a lack of trust and military coordination are 鈥渨eak links鈥� between the two nations.

When US Navy officials confirmed the incident to 海角大神鈥檚 Pentagon correspondent last week, they cautioned that "these sorts of standoffs with China happen with relative frequency in the Pacific and that, according to one Navy officer with knowledge of the event, it鈥檚 important not to 'overhype' the incident."

Other analysts told the Monitor that the incident carried a warning from the Chinese:聽

Michael Swaine, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told the Monitor that the Chinese are most likely trying to increase their capacity to deter other forces, like the US and Japanese, "from being able to prevail in possible confrontations over Taiwan and other disputed territories."

The near sea miss comes at a period of heightened tensions in the region since China declared an air defense identification zone over disputed territory late last month. China and Japan have competing territorial claims in the East China Sea, and several Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam, Malaysia, and The Philippines have competing claims in the South China Sea.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry, on his first official trip to Vietnam, announced the US was giving an additional $32.5 million for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to 鈥減rotect their territorial waters and navigational freedom in the聽South China Sea, where four states have competing claims with China,鈥� according to the Associated Press.