A US guided missile cruiser and Chinese warship have come close to colliding in the South China Sea, a media report said, according to dpa. The Chinese ship was attempting to make the USS Cowpens stop in international waters near the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning on December 5, the US military magazine Stars and Stripes reported Friday. "The US has raised this issue at a high level with the Chinese government," a State Department spokesperson told the publication. The USS Cowpens had to take evasive action to avoid a collision, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet said. No shots were fired, a military official who requested not to be named told Stars and Stripes. It was unclear why the People's Liberation Army ship wanted the US ship to stop, an official told the publication. The incident was resolved via radio contacts between the US ship and the Chinese aircraft carrier in the vicinity, another military official said. "This incident underscores the need to ensure the highest standards of professional seamanship, including communications between vessels, to mitigate the risk of an unintended incident or mishap," the Pacific Fleet said in a statement. US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Beijing at the time of the incident. China is locked in various territorial disputes in the South China Sea with neighbouring countries and claims most of the sea as its territorial waters.
