MOSCOW. June 7 (Interfax) - The actions of a U.S. cruiser in the East China Sea, which nearly caused it to collide with a Russian warship, violate the bilateral agreement on the prevention of incidents at sea, State Duma Defense Committee First Deputy Chairman Andrei Krasov told Interfax on Friday.
"This is not a game. This is a violation of all canons of the sea and relevant international agreements," Krasov said.
"These are very dangerous actions, which could have led to tragedy. Provocations staged by the United States and NATO at sea and in the air have grown more frequent," he said.
The 1972 U.S.-Soviet Incidents at Sea Agreement formalized the mutual interest of both sides in the provision of security of ships and aircraft in international waters and airspace. A representative of the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax in 2016 that the Russian military had proposed ways to develop incident prevention mechanisms to the Pentagon.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported dangerous maneuvering of a U.S. cruiser in the East China Sea, which nearly caused its collision with Russian destroyer the Admiral Vinogradov.
The Russian Pacific Fleet's press service said earlier that the incident occurred at 6:35 a.m. Moscow time on Friday in the south-eastern part of the East China Sea whilst a unit of ships of the Pacific Fleet of Russia and the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier strike group were moving on parallel courses.
"The USS Chancellorsville suddenly changed course and crossed the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov's path 50 meters from the ship," the fleet said in its statement.
"In order to avert collision, the Admiral Vinogradov had to perform an emergency maneuver. A protest was lodged with the American ship's command via an international communication channel and it was told that such actions are inadmissible," it said.