(CNN) - A Russian warship "aggressively approached" a US Navy destroyer
while it was operating in the North Arabian Sea Thursday, ignoring
warnings from the US vessel and increasing the risk of a collision, the
US Navy said Friday.
The incident is the latest example of a
close encounter between US and Russian military forces that US officials
have described as unsafe and provocative and comes roughly seven months
after another incident in the Pacific in June when US and Russian
warships came so close the US ship had to perform an emergency maneuver
to avoid a collision.
"On Thursday, Jan. 9, while conducting
routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, USS Farragut was
aggressively approached by a Russian Navy ship," the US Navy's Fifth
Fleet, which oversees naval operations in the Middle East, said in a
statement.
A US Navy official says that the Farragut is part of
the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier group and the Farragut is
tasked with intercepting potential enemy ships to prevent them from
approaching the aircraft carrier.
Two defense officials said the
Russian vessel got as close as 180 feet from the US ship and that there
was bridge to bridge communication between the two warships.
The
incident is the latest example of a close encounter between US and
Russian military forces that US officials have described as unsafe and
provocative and comes roughly seven months after another incident in the
Pacific in June when US and Russian warships came so close the US ship
had to perform an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision.
This story is breaking and will be updated with additional developments.
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