Latest US Navy - China Incident in the Yellow Sea

Just under the radar, this was released by the DoD today.

Chinese fishing vessels closed in on and maneuvered near the USNS Victorious in international waters in the Yellow Sea on May 1, Pentagon officials said today.
The Victorious is one of the five ocean surveillance ships that are part of the 25 ships in Military Sealift Command's Special Mission Ships Program.

The vessel was conducting routine operations 170 miles off the coast of China when two Chinese fishing vessels approached, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

“This was an incident where a couple of Chinese fishing vessels maneuvered close to the Victorious in what was an unsafe manner,” Whitman said.

The Victorious took defensive measures as the vessels got close. The Victorious crew sounded the ship’s danger alarms and manned fire hoses. They sprayed water at the Chinese vessels, but did not hit them, officials said.

The Victorious requested the assistance of a nearby Chinese government vessel, at which time the fishing vessels departed, Whitman said.

The response by the USNS Victorious (T-AGOS-19) to request help from the Chinese government is an interesting twist, and suggests the relationship between the US and China regarding these types of encounters following the USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) incident in March has produced a response plan for action likely negotiated at a high level.

Something to keep an eye on, and definitely something the press should ask questions about.