If you've read much history of the Cold War, you know that confrontations at sea with Soviet naval vessels was not uncommon. There were even a couple of collisions that cost lives and heavily damaged ships. But the Soviets were our enemies. Isn't China supposed to be our friend? Free Beacon: A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials. The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing's new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident. "On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision," a...(Read Full Post)