A Russian warship and a U.S. destroyer had a rare standoff in the Sea of Japan early Tuesday morning. According to the Russian defense ministry, the Admiral Vinogradov—a Russian destroyer—caught the U.S. Navy’s USS John S. McCain sailing illegally in Russia’s territorial waters, and threatened to ram it in order to force it to leave the area. The ministry said the U.S. ship then immediately returned to neutral waters. The incident took place in the Peter the Great Gulf, off the coast of the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok. In a statement, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said its operation was not illegal, saying it “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging Russia's excessive maritime claims.” In 2017, the McCain, named after the late U.S. senator, his father, and grandfather, collided with an oil tanker in the Strait of Malacca, killing 10 American sailors in an accident the National Transportation Safety Board attributed to insufficient training and operational controls on board.
