Russia and the United States on Friday accused each other of dangerous maneuvers after their naval ships came close to collision in the East China…
Russia and the United States on Friday accused each other of dangerous maneuvers after their naval ships came close to collision in the East China Sea.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet said that the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile cruiser suddenly cut across the course of its Admiral Vinogradov anti-submarine ship, passing in front of it at a distance of just 50 meters (164 feet).
The Russian ship had to carry out an emergency maneuver to avoid collision, the navy said, adding that it had sent a message of protest to the US cruiser’s commanders.
Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, Russia’s former navy chief of staff, accused the US of «hooliganism» in comments to Interfax news agency.
But the US Seventh Fleet later attributed the incident to an «unsafe» maneuver by the Russian ship, which it said had accelerated from behind to sail within 50 to 100 feet of the Chancellorsville, «putting the safety of her crew and ship at risk.»
«We consider Russia’s actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional,» the US Navy said.
The Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov sails close to the USS Chancellorsville in this image released by the US Navy
Christopher J Krucke, US NAVY/AFP
Patrick Shanahan, the acting US defense secretary, said the United States planned a formal protest to Russia and would seek conversations between the two militaries on the incident.
