Moscow claimed on Friday that a US Navy destroyer was pursued away from Russian territorial waters in the Sea of Japan by one of its warships, but Washington disputed this.
The incident occurred in the area where Russia and China were conducting naval exercises.
The destroyer USS Chafee, which had been operating in the Sea of Japan for several days, “approached the territorial seas of the Russian Federation and attempted to cross the border,” the Russian Defense Ministry stated in a statement.
The Russian warship Admiral Tributs warned the US ship “about the inadmissibility of such acts.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the USS Chafee ignored the warning and “made action to violate the Russian Federation’s territorial boundaries.”
“Within the bounds of international navigational norms, Admiral Tributs charted a course to expel the interloper from Russian territorial waters.”
When the USS Chafee was less than 60 meters away from the Russian ship, it turned around and went off “on the opposite course.”
The Russian report was regarded by the US Navy as “false.”
