“According to the officials, the Cowpens was conducting a routine operation done to exercise its freedom of navigation near the Chinese carrier when the incident occurred about a week ago.”
In other words, the US ship was acting belligerent and the Chinese ship didn’t give way
“Acting belligerent?” Are you on joking? Testing and preserving the freedom of open sea travel has always been one of the main missions of the USN, going all the way back to Mahan a century ago.
China, or the USSR or anybody else declaring “no-go zones” on the open ocean are going to be tested and pushed back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Thayer_Mahan
“In other words, the US ship was acting belligerent and the Chinese ship didn’t give way”
No, the US ship was acting legally in international waters, and the Chicoms decided to get belligerent. They chose to put themselves in the way, and ordered the US ship to stop. That the US ship didn’t immediately kiss Chinese ass doesn’t make the US ship the aggressor.