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'Reckless' Chinese ships harassed Navy vessel: US

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The tension on the high seas took an odd turn at one point when the Americans sprayed water at the Chinese boats and the crew responded by stripping to their underwear.

US demands China respect international law
The White House Monday demanded China respect international law after five Chinese vessels allegedly veered dangerously close to a US Navy ship in the South China Sea. "Our ships obviously operate fairly regularly in international waters where these incidents took place," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. "We're going to continue to operate in those international waters and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around there," he said, noting the US government has complained to Beijing. The State Department said it had protested to Chinese authorities over the incident which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Hainan Island. According to the Pentagon, the Chinese ships surrounded the surveillance vessel USNS Impeccable, and after two ships came within 50 feet (15 meters), waved Chinese flags and told the US crew to leave the area.

China naval incident 'early test' for Obama: US lawmaker
US President Barack Obama faces a critical "early test" from China over a tense naval standoff in the South China Sea, and the whole world is watching his response, a US lawmaker cautioned Monday. "This story will reverberate around the world and will be carefully watched in North Korea, Iran and Syria," said Republican Representative Mark Kirk, a US Navy Reservist who was at the Pentagon when the incident occurred Sunday. "It's surprising in that the Chinese challenged a United States ship just two and a half weeks before the Obama/Hu Jintao summit" in London in April, Kirk told AFP by telephone. "It's an early test" of the new US president, but "it's right on schedule," Kirk said, noting that China similarly challenged then-president George W. Bush two months after he took office in January 2001. The Obama administration needs to respond forcefully, perhaps by sending the unarmed surveillance ship "right back into the same area" -- this time with a destroyer escort, to make clear Washington cannot be bullied in international waters, said Kirk. And the US House of Representatives' US-China Working Group will formally condemn the confrontation in a "strongly worded letter" to Chinese President Hu Jintao, said Kirk, who co-founded and co-chairs the group. The group's condemnation could get Beijing's attention because it was created to engage China and strengthen diplomatic ties in a bid avoid conflict between the two major powers. He spoke after the Pentagon said five Chinese vessels maneuvered dangerously close to a US Navy ship in the South China Sea on Sunday, approaching within 25 feet of the unarmed surveillance ship. The State Department said it had protested to Chinese authorities over the incident which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Hainan Island. "Allies and enemies of the United States" alike will be closely watching Obama's response, said Kirk.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 9, 2009
Five Chinese vessels maneuvered dangerously close to a US Navy ship in the South China Sea on Sunday, closing within 25 feet of the unarmed surveillance ship, the Pentagon said. "This was a reckless, dangerous maneuver that was unprofessional" and violated international law, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters on Monday.

The United States protested to Chinese authorities in Beijing and to the defense attache in Washington over the incident, which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.

The White House demanded China respect international maritime law and vowed to keep up naval operations in the area.

"We're going to continue to operate in those international waters and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around there," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

A Republican lawmaker called the standoff a critical "early test" for President Barack Obama just weeks before he meets Chinese President Hu Jintao in April.

The Chinese ships surrounded the USNS Impeccable, and after two ships came within 50 feet (15 meters), waved Chinese flags and told the Americans to leave the area, the Defense Department said in a statement.

The tension on the high seas took an odd turn at one point when the Americans sprayed water at the Chinese boats and the crew responded by stripping to their underwear.

"Because the vessels' intentions were not known, Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels in order to protect itself.

"The Chinese crewmembers disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet," said the Pentagon statement.

The US ship's commander asked the Chinese ships by radio "in a friendly manner" for a safe path to leave the area, it said.

Two Chinese boats then moved directly in front of the Impeccable, forcing it to take emergency action to avoid collision, and then dropped pieces of wood into its path, it said.

The Chinese vessels included a navy intelligence ship, a government fisheries patrol vessel, a state oceanographic patrol vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, it said.

The Impeccable, contracted out to the Navy with a civilian crew, is a surveillance ship that gathers "underwater acoustical data" and was carrying out a routine mission, Whitman said.

Although Chinese ships and planes often approach US ships in international waters, the incident followed what the Defense Department said was "increasingly aggressive conduct by Chinese vessels" in the past week -- with Chinese boats steaming near US ships and aircraft flying low overhead.

The Chinese were testing the new US president and other countries would closely follow his response, a US Republican lawmaker said.

"This story will reverberate around the world and will be carefully watched in North Korea, Iran and Syria," said Republican Representative Mark Kirk, a US Navy reservist.

He urged the Obama administration to respond forcefully, perhaps by sending the unarmed surveillance ship "right back into the same area" -- this time with a destroyer escort, said Kirk.

The lawmaker said it was "surprising" that the Chinese challenged the US ship two and a half weeks before a summit in April between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao in London.

The Pentagon recounted several incidents over the past week in which it said Chinese ships and aircraft approached at close distance without warning.

On Saturday, a Chinese intelligence ship "challenged USNS Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or 'suffer the consequences.'"

The Defense Department called on the Chinese to refrain from actions that could "greatly increase the risk of collision or miscalculation," it said.

On April 1, 2001, US-China relations were seriously strained after a mid-air collision between a US surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter jet.

The collision killed the pilot of the Chinese jet and the US EP-3 spy plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Hainan Island. The 24-member US crew were held and interrogated until April 11.

"בניתי לי בית ונטעתי לי גן במקום זה שביקש האויב לגרשנו ממנו בניתי את ביתי, כנגד מקום המקדש בניתיו. כדי להעלות על ליבי תמיד את בית מחמדנו החרב...."
(ש"י עגנון - חתן פרס נובל)

אשרי אדם שיכול לתת מבלי לזכור זאת כל הזמן, ולקבל מבלי לשכוח אף פעם

לסלוח לרוצחים - זה תפקידו של האלוהים.
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US destroyers to escort ships in South China Sea: official

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by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 12, 2009
The United States has decided to provide heavily armed destroyers to escort US surveillance ships operating in the South China Sea after a tense naval standoff this week, a US official said on Thursday. "Right now they are going to escort these types of ships for the foreseeable future," the defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

The US government has said Chinese boats moved directly in front of the US Navy surveillance vessel Impeccable on Sunday, forcing the ship to take emergency action to avoid a collision.

A day after the incident, the USS Chung-Hoon destroyer accompanied the Impeccable, an unarmed ship designed to track submarines, in the same area, the official said.

Since Sunday's high-seas standoff, there have been no incidents of harassment from Chinese boats or aircraft, he said.

"It's been quiet," the official said. "There's a great deal of emphasis right now to keep this at the diplomatic level. So that's been our focus."

The escorts by warships applied to operations in the South China Sea, he said.

The US government has protested to Chinese authorities over the incident, which occurred in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.

Obama calls for measures to stop China Sea clashes


US President Barack Obama on Thursday called for more military contacts with Beijing to head off future maritime standoffs in the South China Sea, as he met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

Obama also raised hopes of progress in talks between China and the Dalai Lama's representatives over Tibet, as the two men also agreed to work together to combat the global economic meltdown in the White House meeting.

The president dispensed with protocol to meet Yang, following a series of sharp exchanges over China's human rights record in Tibet, and the recent standoff between a US naval ship and Chinese vessels.

Obama, making his first foray into treacherous Sino-US ties, told Yang that he believed it was important to raise the level and frequency of the military dialogue between the sides to "avoid future incidents," the White House said.

His national security advisor James Jones meanwhile directly raised the incident this week involving the US survey ship Impeccable.

Obama meanwhile raised the issue of Tibet, a day after the official Xinhua news agency said that Yang told the United States to stop meddling in China's internal affairs over the issue.

"On human rights, the president noted that the promotion of human rights is an essential aspect of US global foreign policy," the White House statement said.

"The president expressed his hope there would be progress in the dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama's representatives."

Obama and Yang agreed that China and the United States must work "closely and urgently" to stabilize the global economy.

The two sides need to stimulate "demand at home and abroad, and get credit markets flowing," the White House said.

"The President also emphasized the need to address global trade imbalances.

The meeting came against a backdrop of the deepening global economic crisis, with much of the world looking for the powerhouse economies of China and the United States to chart a road to recovery.

It was set to prepare the ground for the first meeting between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G-20 summit of developed and developing nations in London in early April.

Yang earlier told members of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that the Obama-Hu meeting would be a "great success" and both sides viewed it with high importance, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

But in recent days, the high-profile standoff between a US naval ship and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea and US expressions of concern over human rights in Tibet have detracted attention from economic common interests.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after meeting Yang on Wednesday that the two sides agreed to work to avoid a repeat of a standoff on Sunday in the South China Sea.

But China is fuming over a resolution that passed the House of Representatives calling on Beijing to "cease its repression of the Tibetan people, and to lift immediately the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans."

The resolution followed a Chinese security crackdown in the Himalayan region during the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that forced Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, into exile.

The White House and State Department have expressed concern about the human rights situation in recent days, prompting strongly-worded complaints from Beijing.

China's Xinhua news agency said in a report after Yang's meeting with Clinton that he had told the United States to "stop meddling" in Beijing's internal affairs over Tibet.

The agency said Yang registered "strong indignation" over the House resolution and called for effective steps to clear up "wrong words and deeds" from the US side.

Xinhua also said that the two sides promised to work together to avoid trade disputes and to fight protectionism and the financial crisis at what Yang described as a "new starting point" for relations.

"בניתי לי בית ונטעתי לי גן במקום זה שביקש האויב לגרשנו ממנו בניתי את ביתי, כנגד מקום המקדש בניתיו. כדי להעלות על ליבי תמיד את בית מחמדנו החרב...."
(ש"י עגנון - חתן פרס נובל)

אשרי אדם שיכול לתת מבלי לזכור זאת כל הזמן, ולקבל מבלי לשכוח אף פעם

לסלוח לרוצחים - זה תפקידו של האלוהים.
תפקידנו - זה לארגן להם פגישה

אנו לא בוכים, דואגים שאמהות שלהם יבכו