A US warship that was forced to maneuver to avoid a collision with a Chinese naval vessel had "posed a threat"

A US warship that was forced to maneuver to avoid a collision with a Chinese naval vessel had "posed a threat", state-run media said Monday, after Washington accused China of being the ‘aggressor’.
 
The Global Times newspaper, which often takes a nationalistic stance, said the USS Cowpens guided missile cruiser had "come to China's threshold and posed a threat to China's military security".
  
Washington issued a formal protest after the incident in the South China Sea between the Cowpens and a Chinese navy vessel on December 5, insisting that the ships were in international waters.
  
"If the American navy and air force always encroach near China's doorstep, 'confrontation' is bound to take place," the Global Times said. "As China's strength grows, the US should learn to communicate with and respect China if it doesn't want a collision on the sea or in the air."

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying referred questions on the incident to China's defense ministry. But she added: "I can tell you in principle that China respects the freedom of navigation and overflight that is in accordance with international laws."

The Global Times quoted an anonymous Chinese military expert as saying the US "was tailing after and harassing" China's Liaoning aircraft carrier which was conducting drills in the area, and that the USS Cowpens had come within 45 kilometers of the "inner defense layer of the Chinese fleet".  "Bad guys always claim innocence first," the source told the paper, adding that the US warship "took offensive actions at first towards the Liaoning formation on the day of the confrontation".