U.S., Russia blame each other over ship near-miss
10 June, 2019
The United States and Russia accused each other of unsafe actions on Friday after an American guided-missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer came within 50 meters of each other in the Philippine Sea.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters that the United States will file a formal diplomatic complaint about the incident and will have military-to-military conversations with the Russians. He added that the encounter will not deter the United States from conducting naval operations.
The U.S. 7th Fleet said the Russian destroyer put the safety of the USS Chancellorsville and its crew at risk, forcing it to reverse all engines at full throttle to avoid a collision.
No one was injured, and the ships never came into contact, said Navy Cdr. Clay Doss, a spokesman for the Japan-based 7th Fleet.
An American helicopter was preparing to land on the Chancellorsville, which was traveling on a steady course, when the Russian destroyer, traveling behind the U.S. ship, started moving faster and approached as close as 15-30 meters, the 7th Fleet said in a statement.
“We consider Russia’s actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional and not in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), ‘Rules of the Road,’ and internationally recognized maritime customs,” the statement said.
It was the first such incident involving warships in the region since September, when the Chinese warship Luoyang maneuvered close to the USS Decatur , a Navy destroyer, in the South China Sea, an incident the United States also labeled unprofessional and unsafe.
The United States at the time said the Chinese ship came within 41 meters of the American ship, forcing it to maneuver out of the way. The Chinese said the Luoyang had been deployed to drive the U.S. vessel away from islands that China claims as its own.
The United States also has repeatedly complained in recent years that Russian planes have flown dangerously close to American aircraft.
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