A US surveillance ship and Chinese vessels had a naval confrontation in the Yellow Sea on Friday, the Pentagon said last night, the South China Morning Post reported. A Pentagon spokesman called the Chinese ships’ actions “unsafe and dangerous.” Two unnamed US defense officials said two Chinese vessels came to within 27 meters of the US ship during the hour-long incident, leading the American crew to use fire hoses to warn them off. Officials said the USNS Victorious was “operating in international waters,” roughly 193km off the mainland coast. The area is within China’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the US has yet to ratify. Under the convention, prior consent is needed for any scientific activity within the EEZ. In March, five Chinese ships had a confrontation with another US Navy surveillance ship off of Hainan Island. Ni Lexiong, a Chinese military expert, said the latest confrontation had been triggered by the US. He accused the Pentagon officials of deliberately releasing the information to the press to create tension.