US, Chinese warships narrowly avoid collision in South China Sea
American guided missile cruiser sailing in international waters forced to take evasive action amid heightened tensions | A U.S. guided missile cruiser operating in international waters in the South China Sea was forced to take evasive action last week to avoid a collision with a Chinese warship maneuvering nearby, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement Friday. The incident came as the USS Cowpens was operating in the vicinity of China's only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, at a time of heightened tensions in the region following Beijing's declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone farther north in the East China Sea, a U.S. defense official said. Another Chinese warship maneuvered near the Cowpens in the incident on Dec. 5, and the Cowpens was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision, the Pacific Fleet said in its statement.