PUBLISHED ONDecember 18, 2013 10:03 AM
BEIJING - China said on Wednesday that a Chinese naval vessel and a US warship "met" each other in the South China Sea, confirming an earlier statement from Washington that a US guided missile cruiser had avoided a collision with a Chinese warship manoeuvring nearby in the sea.
China's Defence Ministry issued the statement on its website (www.mod.gov.cn) after Washington said last week its ship was forced to take evasive action on Dec. 5 to avoid a collision.
"During the encounter, the Chinese naval vessels properly handled it in accordance with strict protocol," the ministry said.