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10-03-09 China:Confronted U.S. ship acting illegally

A U.S. Navy mapping ship confronted by Chinese vessels over the weekend was operating illegally in China’s exclusive economic zone,the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday,in Beijing’s first formal comment on the latest friction between the two militaries.Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu dismissed U.S. accusations that Chinese boats operated recklessly and without cause,saying the claim was “totally inaccurate and confuses right and wrong and is unacceptable to China.”The ship,the USNS Impeccable,“broke international and Chinese laws in the South China Sea without China’s permission,” Ma said at a regularly scheduled news conference.The U.S. Defense Department says Chinese ships surrounded and harassed the Navy vessel in international waters in the South China Sea on Sunday,at one point coming within 25 feet of the American boat and strewing debris in its path.China views almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory.Its claims to small islets in the region have put it at odds with five governments — the Philippines,Vietnam,Malaysia,Brunei and Taiwan.Observers said the incident appeared to be a deliberate assertion by Beijing of its territorial claims,saying repeat incidents were likely as the Chinese navy continues to raise its regional profile