Russian, US warships 'almost collide' in East China Sea

A Russian and a US warship came close to a collision in the East China Sea on Friday, with both sides blaming each other for the incident.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Russian anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Vinogradov "managed to avoid a collision with US guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville, with the latter conducting a dangerous manoeuver".

The incident occurred at 6.35 a.m. (local time), according to a statement of the Russian Pacific Fleet, published by the Ministry's official news agency Krasnaya Zvezda.

The Pacific Fleet said a detachment of Pacific Fleet ships and a carrier group of the US Navy were moving along parallel routes in the southeastern part of the East China Sea, when the US cruiser suddenly changed its direction and crossed the Russian ship's course at a distance of some 50 metres, Xinhua news agency reported.

To prevent a collision, the Russian crew was forced to perform an emergency manoeuver, the statement said, adding that the Pacific Fleet had sent a protest to the US Naval Command over the inadmissibility of such actions.

On the other hand, US Seventh Fleet Commander Clayton Doss called the Russians "unsafe and unprofessional", saying their destroyer "made an unsafe manoeuvre against USS Chancellorsville".

He dismissed the Russian allegation as "propaganda".

--IANS

soni/bg