"with such a provocative act by the Chinese"
The provocative act was the US ship being in the 12 mile territorial waters. The Chinese boat forced the US boat out of Chinese waters.
This is a US violation of the Law of the Sea Treaty to which China is a party and the US is not a party to the treaty. The only 5 nations not a party are the US, Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Iran.
The GOP has blocked both GW Bush and Obama efforts to ratify the treaty saying that the US has the worlds most powerful navy and can establish their own law of force.
Ben Ficklin:
"The provocative act was the US ship being in the 12 mile territorial waters.
The Chinese boat forced the US boat out of Chinese waters. " Rubbish.
Gaven & Johnson reefs are in the Spratly Islands claimed by not only China but also Vietnam, the Philippines & Taiwan, near waters also claimed by Brunei and Malaysia.
In July 2016, an arbitration tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruled against the PRC's maritime claims in Philippines v. China."
The US and other nations recognize the South China Sea as international waters and conduct "freedom of navigation" operations there.
Chinese military aggression in international waters is a very dangerous "game".
Map of South China Sea claims:
