Chinese Account Says U.S. Ship Was Warned Away From Aircraft Carrier A Chinese ship warned an American guided missile cruiser to move away from China's aircraft carrier in the South China Sea on Dec. 5, according to a Chinese account that confirms many of the elements of the incident as described by the United States Navy this week. The report in the state-run Global Times newspaper said that the Chinese ship, an amphibious landing vessel, forced the American captain to take "emergency evasive action," a term similar to that used by the United States Navy. The Global Times report, citing the People's Liberation Army Navy as its source, said the American cruiser, the Cowpens, was conducting surveillance of the aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a contention the Pentagon did not deny on Monday. The Chinese report appeared to be fairly low-key, and said that China is still preparing to participate for the first time in a major naval exercise next year, known as Rimpac, hosted by the United States Pacific Command based in Hawaii. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry has not mentioned the encounter in regular news briefings, and the Defense Ministry has not responded to requests for comment. The United States Navy contends that there was a near collision between the Cowpens and the amphibious vessel. The Global Times account does not say how close the vessels were when the warning was given. A Pentagon spokesman said on Monday that the Chinese amphibious vessel came within 500 yards of the Cowpens. Other American officials have said that the Chinese amphibious ship was closer. Despite the restrained reaction by China, the incident underscores the fast-growing maritime rivalry between China and the United States, and highlights the surveillance practices of the United States military that have long irritated China. The encounter happened close to the area of the South China Sea where an American EP-3 surveillance aircraft collided with a Chinese fighter jet in 2001, and where a tense confrontation between a United States Navy surveillance ship, the Impeccable, and five Chinese ships occurred in 2009. Retired Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo told the website of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, that the Cowpens traveled alongside the "main ships" of the aircraft carrier group, and that the Cowpens interfered with the aircraft carrier's movements. Both the Chinese and the American vessels were in international waters far away from China's 12-mile territorial line, Admiral Yin said. The surveillance did not violate international law, said Admiral Yin, who is the director of the Chinese Navy Advisory Committee for Information and is considered a moderate voice among often shrill military commentators in the Chinese media. But when an American ship gets too close to a Chinese ship, "Then, sorry, we will stop you," he said. He added: "The U.S. side did not violate international law and we did not violate international law." An online version of the Global Times story carried a rough map with red lines showing where the Chinese aircraft carrier was traveling, and where its accompanying ships were in relation to the carrier and to the Cowpens. A blue line shows the Cowpens making an abrupt turn close to the red line that indicates the accompanying Chinese ships. According to the Global Times account, when the captain of the Chinese amphibious vessel warned the Cowpens to move away, the American captain contacted the Chinese captain and, "after simple exchanges," both sides left the area. The question of American surveillance of Chinese military capacities has been an issue between the two militaries for some time, said Lyle J. Goldstein, a professor at the China Maritime Studies Institute at the Naval War College in Rhode Island. Even though the Liaoning, a refurbished Ukrainian aircraft carrier, is not fully operational and does not carry a full complement of aircraft, the United States is eager to learn more about it, naval experts said. The carrier was on its first voyage in the South China Sea, and more accessible to American surveillance than at its home port in the northern city of Qingdao. One of China's preconditions for improved military relations with the United States is a halt to American surveillance activities at sea and in the air, Mr. Goldstein said. "In multiple interactions with Chinese military naval and maritime personnel, they have expressed consternation, frustration and even outrage with respect to surveillance activities by United States forces in areas proximate to China," he said. They have also alleged that such activities have increased in frequency. The Chinese interpret the surveillance as hostile, and as an example of what they call a cold war mind-set by the United States toward China, he said. On the American side, some military officers argue that the kind of surveillance that occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union was healthy because it let each side know what the other was doing, Mr. Goldstein said. How to balance the tension between the American military's demand to understand China's strategic intentions, and the diplomatic imperative of maintaining a stable relationship between China and the United States, is one of the big challenges ahead, he said.