By Lia
The US and Russia are blaming each other in a near-collision of naval ships in the East China Sea on Friday.
Both countries claim the near miss forced them to perform emergency maneuvers.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet accused the USS Chancellorsville of abruptly cutting across the course of its Admiral Vinogradov vessel, passing in front of it at a distance of just 164 feet.
The Russian anti-submarine ship was forced to do an emergency maneuver to avoid a crash, the navy said, adding that it had sent a message of protest to the US cruiser’s commanders.
But the US Navy said the close encounter was caused by an “unsafe” maneuver by the Russian ship, which it said had accelerated from behind to sail within 50 to 100 feet of the Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruiser.
The move put “the safety of her crew and ship at risk,” the US’ seventh fleet said, adding that the Chancellorsville had to reverse all engines at full throttle to avoid a collision.
“We consider Russia’s actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional,” the Navy said.
A pair of videos tweeted out by the Navy show the Russian warship coming dangerously close to the American cruiser.
One clip shows the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov nearly brushing up alongside the USS Chancellorsville as the two ships journey along the Philippine Sea.
The recordings show clear, blue skies and calm seas — and Russian sailors nonchalantly sunbathing on a deck as the two ships near one another.
It’s not the first time the two countries have been locked in a spat at sea.
In 2016, the US and Russia pointed the finger at each other when their naval ships sailed closely past each other in the eastern Mediterranean.
A month later, the US accused Russia of “aggressive” and “erratic” moves by one of its warships in the same waters.
The latest disagreement comes after both countries claimed last month that each other’s aircraft were flying too close to their airspace.
The US said its pilots were put at risk by Russian jets that passed directly in front of American aircraft multiple times at high rates of speed over the Mediterranean Sea — an account disputed by Moscow.
Meanwhile last month, US fighters intercepted six Russian military aircraft in international airspace off the coast of Alaska.
