The Department of Defense announced the move that is widely seen as a way to deter China's influence in the region amid a visit to the Philippines by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The U.S. military said that the incident occurred Dec. 21 when a Chinese jet fighter flew in front of and within 20 feet of the nose of a U.S. military reconnaissance plane.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had stressed the need for multilateral partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, which China's defense minister suggested was an attempt to back his country into a corner.
An investigation found that the USS Connecticut "grounded on an uncharted seamount," the 7th Fleet said. Eleven crew members were injured in the Oct. 2 collision.
A Defense Department official says nearly a dozen sailors were injured in the incident aboard the USS Connecticut. The U.S. 7th Fleet says the sub's nuclear power plant was not affected.
After threatening since last year to cancel it, President Rodrigo Duterte decided to restore the agreement that enables U.S. forces to operate in the Philippines. Here's why that matters.
China has provoked international alarm by massing ships in the South China Sea near a reef claimed by both China and the Philippines. Manila protested, calling for the flotilla's immediate withdrawal.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and his Chinese counterpart lectured one another in a 90-minute call as the highest level U.S. delegation in four decades plans a provocative visit to Taiwan.
China claims sovereignty over the vast majority of the economically important body of water, and in recent years, it has built artificial islands to bolster those claims.
