Russia drives out US navy destroyer operating in its waters with 'ramming maneuver'

Russian Defence Ministry said on November 24 that it forced a US Navy destroyer off its waters in the Far East after being warned that it might be rammed. In a statement, Russia said that it was United States’ USS John S. McCain that ventured two kilometres into Russian territorial waters on Tuesday in the Peter the Great Gulf, near the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok before it was turned back following a warning from the Admiral Vinogradov vessel.

"The Pacific Fleet's Admiral Vinogradov anti-submarine destroyer used an international communication channel to warn the foreign vessel that such actions were unacceptable and the violator could be driven out of the country's territorial waters in a ramming manoeuvre. After the warning was issued and Admiral Vinogradov changed its course, the USS John S. McCain destroyer returned to international waters," the statement said as reported by Russian News agency.

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US Pacific Fleet statement did not mention details

A separate statement by the US Pacific Fleet did not give any details about its encounter with Russian Defence Ministry but said that the US destroyer “asserted navigational rights and freedoms” in the proximity of the Peter the Great Gulf “by challenging Russia's excessive maritime claims”. In 1984, the Soviet Union had declared the area as part of its territorial waters in 1984. However, the United States has still not recognised that claim and thus, similar incidents have been reported by Russia in recent years.

The US-Russian Navy encounters have grown over the years since the ties between US and the European Union (EU) worsened after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 along with its backing to separatists in Ukraine's east. Even the US and the NATO military jets have intercepted the Russian surveillance but most incidents are routine and are not considered threatening. 

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