Russia and the United States blamed each other for a near collision between their warships in the East China Sea on Friday with both countries accusing one another of dangerous and unprofessional behaviour.

Russia’s Pacific Fleet said that the USS Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruiser, had come within just 50m (165ft) of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov which had been forced to take emergency action to avoid a collision, Russian news agencies reported.

They cited a Russian Pacific Fleet statement as saying the incident took place in the early hours of Friday morning in the eastern part of the East China Sea at a time when a group of Russian warships was on a parallel course with a US naval strike group.

“The US guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed course and cut across the path of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov coming within 50m of the ship,” the statement said.

“A protest over the international radio frequency was made to the commanders of the American ship who were warned about the unacceptable nature of such actions,” it said.

That version of events was rejected by the US navy, which said the behaviour of the Russian ship had been “unsafe and unprofessional”.

“While operating in the Philippine Sea, a Russian Destroyer . . . made an unsafe manoeuvre against USS Chancellorsville,” US Seventh Fleet spokesman Commander Clayton Doss said.

“This unsafe action forced Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full and to manoeuvre to avoid collision.”

He described a Russian assertion that the US ship had acted dangerously as “propaganda”. The Russian destroyer came within 50 to 100ft of the Chancellorsville, he said, putting the safety of her crew and the ship at risk.

The incident comes days after Washington and Moscow sparred over an allegedly unsafe spy plane intercept by a Russian fighter jet near Syria. </s> SALT LAKE CITY — Warships from Russia and the United States came close to a collision in the western Pacific Ocean on Friday morning. Both sides blamed each other for the incident.

A video of the near-collision also surfaced online:

Russia’s Pacific Fleet said that the U.S.S. Chancellorsville came within 50 meters of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov, which was forced to take emergency action to avoid a crash, Reuters reports.

Multiple Russian media reports cited a statement from the Russian Pacific Fleet that said the incident happened after Russian warships were on a course parallel to a U.S. strike group.

“The U.S guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed course and cut across the path of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov coming within 50 meters of the ship,” the statement said, according to Reuters.

“A protest over the international radio frequency was made to the commanders of the American ship who were warned about the unacceptable nature of such actions,” it said.

The U.S. Navy rejected the story.

“While operating in the Philippine Sea, a Russian Destroyer ... made an unsafe maneuver against USS Chancellorsville,” U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesman Commander Clayton Doss said, according to CNN. “This unsafe action forced Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full and to maneuver to avoid collision.”

Context: Russia and the United States commonly blame each other for military incidents at sea and in the air, according to BBC News. For example, the U.S. shared footage of Russia intercepting a plane over the Black Sea last November.
• Carl Schuster, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former director of operations at the U.S. Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN that the incident happened far away from Russia and in international waters and that this situation is nothing new.
• "The Russians normally harass our ships when they are operating in waters the Russian consider to be within their sphere of Influence (Black Sea, Barents Sea and the waters off Validvostok," he said. </s> The US and Russian warships came somewhere between 50 feet and 165 feet of each other, according to the two opposing reports, with both sides alleging their ships were forced to perform emergency maneuvers to avoid a collision.

"A Russian destroyer .... made an unsafe maneuver against USS Chancellorsville, closing to 50-100 feet, putting the safety of her crew and ship at risk," US Navy spokesman Cmdr. Clayton Doss told CNN in a statement.

"This unsafe action forced Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full and to maneuver to avoid collision," Doss said.

The US guided-missile cruiser was traveling in a straight line and trying to recover its helicopter when the incident occurred, he said.

"We consider Russia's actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional," Doss said. The Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov arrives at a port to attend China-Russia Joint Sea 2019 naval exercise on April 29, 2019, in Qingdao, China. The US account was contradicted by Russia's Pacific Fleet, which claimed it was the US ship that instigated the incident, according to comments carried by the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency. A US official tells CNN the US Navy is attempting to declassify images to show what happened to discount the Russian account claiming that the US was at fault. "When moving (on) parallel courses of a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet and a carrier group of the US Navy, the cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed its direction and crossed within 50 meters of the Admiral Vinogradov," forcing the Russian destroyer to take emergency evasive action, the report said. The US Navy said the incident occurred in the Philippine Sea while the Russian report said it happened in the East China Sea. The boundary between the two bodies of water is the Senakaku Islands (also known as the Diaoyu islands in China), to the south of Japan and east of Taiwan. The incident comes just days after the US Navy accused Russia of intercepting a US aircraft flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea three times in just under three hours. The second of the three interactions "was determined to be unsafe" due to the Russian aircraft "conducting a high speed pass directly in front of the mission aircraft, which put our pilots and crew at risk," the US Navy said. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The crew of the USS Chancellorsville had a close-up view of the Russian warship Admiral Vinogradov

A Russian warship and a US warship have come close to collision in the western Pacific Ocean, with each side blaming the other for the incident.

Russia's Pacific Fleet said the cruiser USS Chancellorsville crossed just 50m (160ft) in front of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov at 06:35 Moscow time (03:35 GMT).

It was forced to perform "emergency manoeuvring" to avoid the US ship.

But US forces blamed the Russians, claiming their ship was responsible.

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".

Image copyright AFP/US NAVY Image caption Another US Navy image showed the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov (l) close to the USS Chancellorsville

Admiral Vinogradov came within 50 to 100 feet (15m-30m) of the USS Chancellorsville in the Philippine Sea, the US said.

The Russian Pacific Fleet meanwhile said the incident took place in the southeast of the East China Sea, and added they had sent a message of protest to the US ship's commanders.

In a statement it said the US warship had "suddenly changed direction and crossed the path of Admiral Vinogradov just 50m away," forcing the Russian crew to make a quick manoeuvre.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The US Navy posted this video of its plane being intercepted by a Russian jet

The US said later that it would lodge a formal diplomatic complaint, or demarche, with Russia over its warship's movements.

"We'll have military-to-military conversations with the Russians, and of course we'll demarche them," acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters.

Both countries regularly accuse the other of dangerous military manoeuvres - at sea and in the air.

In November, the US posted footage of a Russian jet intercepting one of its planes over the Black Sea - a move they called "irresponsible", but which the Russians said was to stop "a violation of Russian airspace".

Dangerous and unnecessary brinkmanship

By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent

Two warships; two narratives - but one very real chance of accident or potential injury. There is simply no reason for vessels of this size to be in such close proximity.

One of them - or maybe even both - was at fault. Both sides blame the other. But this kind of incident is becoming ever more frequent and it does generally seem to be the result of a concerted policy by Russia to challenge US and its allies naval operations whenever possible.

Often these incidents occur in the Black Sea which Moscow sometimes regards as its own lake; a view with which other states on its shores - some of them Nato members, or aspiring Nato members - disagree.

Such incidents between the US and Russia are less frequent in Asian-Pacific waters, where the tensions tend to be between US and Chinese ships or aircraft. But wherever it occurs naval brinkmanship of this kind is dangerous and unnecessary. </s> – The U.S. and Russia accused each other of unsafe actions on Friday after a U.S. guided-missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer came within 165 feet of each other in the Philippine Sea.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters that the U.S. will file a formal diplomatic complaint and will have military to military conversations with the Russians. He added that the encounter will not deter the U.S. 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.

No one was injured, and the ships never came into contact, said a spokesman for the Japan-based 7th Fleet. A U.S. 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 50-100 feet, 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 U.S. also labeled unprofessional and unsafe. The U.S. at the time said the Chinese ship came within 45 yards of the American ship, forcing it to maneuver out of the way.

The U.S. also has repeatedly complained in recent years that Russian planes have flown dangerously close to U.S. aircraft, and the two nations routinely shadow each other in international airspace.

In this latest incident, in open ocean northeast of the Philippines, the Russian military accused the Chancellorsville of making a dangerous maneuver by crossing the path of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov. The U.S. said the incident happened in the Philippine Sea, while the Russians said it was in the East China Sea, which is farther west and closer to China. </s> The US Navy has accused a Russian warship of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct after a tense standoff on Friday. The US Navy released footage of the near collision, showing the USS Chancellorsville being forced to manoeuvre to avoid a crash. The Russian Udaloy-class destroyer can be seen getting very close to the USS Chancellorsville as the warships move past one another. The US Navy posted: “BREAKING: #USNavy has released video of #USSChancellorsville being forced to manoeuvre to avoid collision.

“#Russian destroyer Udaloy I made an unsafe and unprofessional approach in the Phillippine Sea, June 7th.” In an earlier post, the US Navy explained: “While recovering its helicopter #USSChancellorsville was forced to execute all engines back full. “To avoid collision with #Russian destroyer Udaloy I, which had come from behind and alongside within 50-100 feet in the Phillippine Sea.” However in a contrasting version of events, Russia's Pacific Fleet said that the USS Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruiser, had come within just 50 meters (165 feet) of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov.

The Russian warship had been forced to take emergency action to avoid a collision, Russian news agencies reported. They cited a Russian Pacific Fleet statement as saying the incident took place in the early hours of Friday morning in the eastern part of the East China Sea at a time when a group of Russian warships was on a parallel course with a U.S. naval strike group. The statement said: ”The U.S guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed course and cut across the path of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov coming within 50 metres of the ship. ”A protest over the international radio frequency was made to the commanders of the American ship who were warned about the unacceptable nature of such actions.”

U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesman Commander Clayton Doss said: “While operating in the Philippine Sea, a Russian Destroyer...made an unsafe manoeuvre against USS Chancellorsville. "This unsafe action forced Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full and to maneuver to avoid collision." He described a Russian assertion that the U.S. ship had acted dangerously as "propaganda". The Russian destroyer came within 50 to 100 feet of the Chancellorsville, he said, putting the safety of her crew and the ship at risk. The incident comes days after Washington and Moscow sparred over an allegedly unsafe spy plane intercept by a Russian fighter jet near Syria. </s> Washington and Moscow blame each other for a near-collision between warships in East China Sea on Friday morning. A US guided missile cruiser, the USS Chancellorsville, and a Russian destroyer came within 50 metres of each other while on patrol
• US and Russia blame each other after warships nearly collide </s> In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, a Russian destroyer, left, sails very close to the USS Chancellorsville, right, while operating in the Philippine Sea, Friday, June 7, 2019. The U.S. and Russian militaries accused each other of unsafe actions in the incident. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher J Krucke via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Russia accused each other of unsafe actions on Friday after an American guided-missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer came within 165 feet (50 meters) of each other in the Philippine Sea.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters that the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 50-100 feet (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 U.S. also labeled unprofessional and unsafe. The U.S. at the time said the Chinese ship came within 45 yards (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 U.S. also has repeatedly complained in recent years that Russian planes have flown dangerously close to American aircraft, and the two nations routinely shadow each other in international airspace.

In this latest incident, in open ocean northeast of the Philippines, the Russian military accused the Chancellorsville of making a dangerous maneuver by crossing the path of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov. The U.S. said the incident happened in the Philippine Sea, while the Russians said it was in the East China Sea, which is further west and closer to China.

The Russian military said in a statement that the U.S. cruiser “suddenly changed direction and crossed the path of Admiral Vinogradov just 50 meters (165 feet) away,” forcing the crew of the Russian ship to make a quick maneuver to avoid a collision. It said its navy sent a radio message in protest.

With U.S.-Russian relations at post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Russian and U.S. militaries have frequently exchanged accusations of what they describe as unsafe maneuvers by the other side’s warplanes and navy ships.

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report. </s> According to Reuters, the US Navy said a Russian destroyer almost collided with one of its warships early Friday morning in the Philippine Sea and denounced the incident as "unsafe and unprofessional."

A US official told CNN that the US Navy is in the process of declassifying footage to show exactly what happened to prove Russian aggression.

The Navy said the incident occurred in the Philippine Sea while the Russians said it was in the East China Sea. The boundary between the two bodies of water is the Senakaku Islands, which are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, located approximately due east of Mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island.

: The Navy just decalassified the following two stunning videos of the incident.

We reported last November that the Senakaku Islands could be a "flashpoint for war."

However, the Russian Navy has a different description of what happened: they said the USS Chancellorsville, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, radically changed course and came within just 50 meters of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov. It added in a statement that a collision was averted by emergency maneuvers.

The statement from Russia's Pacific Fleet said the "actions of the American ship are unacceptable."

The near collision comes just three days after a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 unsafely intercepted a US Navy warplane over the Mediterranean.

Tensions between Beijing and Washington have been elevated in the South China Sea. American warships using Freedom of Navigation Operations have been recently sailing within 12 nautical miles of Chinese militarized islands, which has deeply angered Beijing.

This comes at a time when the US has been lured into Thucydides's trap: the rising power (China/Russia) challenge the status quo (the US) and ultimately has put the world onto a collision course for war. If you're curious as to how the next shooting war might start, well, it could very well be a collision of warships near the Senakaku Islands or somewhere in the South China Sea.
The U.S. cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov almost collide in the western Pacific Ocean. Each side blames the other, and their reports disagree as to the location of the incident: Russia claims it happened in the East China Sea, while the U.S. says it was in the nearby Philippine Sea.