PACIFIC OCEAN – Chinese Naval ships surrounded and harassed a US ship in international waters off the coast of China this Sunday. According to the US Defense Department the several larger ships circled around the USNS Impeccable to intimidate it and made nasty faces at the crew.
Naval officers lined up on decks to make faces at the nearby American ship. Hundreds of tongues were stuck out in unison as the ship came within visual range. Naval crews played chicken with the American ship, blocking its exit and forcing it to repeatedly slam on the breaks. Then they threw trash and large pieces of wood in Impeccable’s way to continue intimidating it. At one point all Chinese petty seamen stripped down to their undergarments on deck. Whether this was part of the taunting or standard Chinese naval protocol is still undetermined.
The Chinese navy continued this activity for three hours despite numerous requests to “Quit it.”
Two Chinese speeders used their wake to rock the USNS Impeccable while radio transmissions instructed them to “Stop splashing yourself.”
UN naval forces had to be brought in to separate the two groups and provide safe passage for the American ship away from the China South Sea.
This comes less than a week after the USNS Victorious was capsized by two low flying Chinese jets creating a sonic boom roughly 300 feet above the deck. The Chinese pilots replied via radio “Sorry!” Naval officials don’t believe they were actually sorry.
In Monday’s address by the Defense Department, American officials condemned the aggressive actions of the Chinese ships.
Beijing claims the American ships started it. According to Chinese officials the American ships were spy ships and breaking international law.
Vice Admiral Todd Bennington refused to comment on exactly what the ships were doing in the South China Sea, saying only “Were not.”
US and Chinese Naval vessels will remain forcibly separated until an agreement is reached.
This is not actually a harassment perhaps the Chinese vessels just want to try something new and funny for their troop.