China’s behavior in a narrowly averted naval collision within the South China Sea was each “unhelpful” and “irresponsible,” U.S. Safety Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Thursday, warning towards incidents might improve existing U.S.-Chinese language tensions. China on Wednesday acknowledged an stumble upon in early December between a Chinese language naval vessel and the U.S. warship in the South China Sea. China stated its ship was conducting “standard patrols” when it encountered the U.S. missile cruiser, and its official news agency accused the US of deliberate provocative habits. Specialists have referred to as the incident the most severe U.S.-Chinese language maritime come upon in the disputed South China Sea on the grounds that 2009.