In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, the military Sealift Command ocean surveillance ship USNS Impeccable is seen underway on Monday, March 9, 2009. The ship is one of five ocean surveillance ships that are part of the 25 ships in the Military Sealift Command Special Mission Ships Program. Impeccable directly supports the Navy by using both passive and active low frequency sonar arrays to detect and track undersea threats. The White House said Monday, March 9, that U.S. Navy ships will continue to operate in the South China Sea, where five Chinese vessels shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close to a Navy surveillance ship, prompting an American protest. (AP Photo/U.S. NavyFrom The Danger Room:
On Sunday, an unarmed Navy ocean survey vessel was forced to turn on the firehose to fend off Chinese ships shadowing it in the South China Sea. The incident -- which happened in international waters claimed by China as an "exclusive economic zone" -- touched off a full-blown diplomatic spat between China and the United States.
The civilian-manned survey ship, the USNS Impeccable, was described by the Pentagon news service as "mapping the sea bottom" when the incident occurred. Umm, kinda sorta. Associated Press military writer Anne Gearan confirmed with defense officials that the ship was outfitted with sub-hunting equipment and was on a "calculated U.S. surveillance operation"; according to a photo released by the Navy, Chinese crew members were photographed trying to snag the Impeccable's towed sensor array.
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My Comment: As I had mentioned in a previous post .... I am sure that this crew were just out on fishing trip. Some of the best seafood in the world is from that region .... I should know, when I was there in the 1980s I tried the jumbo shrimp, and it is the best jumbo shrimp in the world (by far).
Spying and searching out Chinese nuclear subs on a multimillion dollar sonar and surveillance ship .... nah ....