China's Ministry of Defense has said some U.S. media reports on the China – U.S. warship encounter in the South China Sea are "inconsistent with truth."

The MOD's information office on Wednesday said it had "effectively communicated" with the U.S. defense authorities over the issue, adding that the Chinese vessel "in the incident" had "strictly followed protocols" in dealing with the encounter.

The MOD added that the incident was an "encounter," rather than a "standoff" as some media reports had wrongly described.

Last Friday, some U.S. media reports claimed a U.S. guided missile cruiser, the USS Cowpens, was cut off by a Chinese navy ship as it was cruising near the Liaoning aircraft battle group. The reports said the two ships were "less than 500 meters at closest."

Chinese military insiders noted the Cowpens had intruded into the Liaoning carrier's "inner defense area," whereas the Pentagon insisted its vessel was "legally cruising in the international waters in the South China Sea."

Major General Zheng Ming, who used to head the PLA Navy's armament technology department, said China had earlier announced the Liaoning battle group would carry out a trial exercise in the South China Sea, and warned of possible risks if other vessels failed to comply with related navigation requirements.

Zheng said: "In case of a real standoff, as opposed to an 'encounter,' our navy would definitely send a destroyer to intercept the intruding ship and demand that it leave immediately."

During this incident, China only sent an amphibious ship to make USS Cowpens change course.

Cao Weidong, a researcher at the PLA Navy Military Academic Research Institute, said the two navies upheld a maritime security consultation mechanism, which helped prevent an attack.

Related

• Qingdao Naval Ship Opens to Public
• Chinese naval ship arrives in Seychelles

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)