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In what a U.S. military official calls an "inadvertent encounter," a Chinese submarine hit an underwater sonar array being towed by the destroyer USS John McCain on Thursday. The array was damaged, but the sub and the ship did not collide, the official said. A sonar array is a radar towed behind a ship that listens and locates underwater sounds. The incident occurred near Subic Bay off the coast of the Philippines.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Chinese submarine accidentally collided with an underwater sonar array being towed by a U.S. military ship, CNN reported on Friday, quoting an unnamed military official. The incident occurred on Thursday near Subic Bay off the coast of the Philippines, according to the CNN report. The destroyer USS John McCain was reportedly towing the array, deployed to track underwater sounds.