"This was a reckless, dangerous maneuver that was unprofessional" and violated international law, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters on Monday.

The United States protested to Chinese authorities in Beijing and to the defense attache in Washington over the incident, which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.

The White House demanded China respect international maritime law and vowed to keep up naval operations in the area.

"We're going to continue to operate in those international waters and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around there," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

A Republican lawmaker called the standoff a critical "early test" for President Barack Obama just weeks before he meets Chinese President Hu Jintao in April.

The Chinese ships surrounded the USNS Impeccable, and after two ships came within 50 feet (15 meters), waved Chinese flags and told the Americans to leave the area, the Defense Department said in a statement.

The tension on the high seas took an odd turn at one point when the Americans sprayed water at the Chinese boats and the crew responded by stripping to their underwear.

"Because the vessels' intentions were not known, Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels in order to protect itself.

"The Chinese crewmembers disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet," said the Pentagon statement.

The US ship's commander asked the Chinese ships by radio "in a friendly manner" for a safe path to leave the area, it said.

Two Chinese boats then moved directly in front of the Impeccable, forcing it to take emergency action to avoid collision, and then dropped pieces of wood into its path, it said.

The Chinese vessels included a navy intelligence ship, a government fisheries patrol vessel, a state oceanographic patrol vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, it said.

The Impeccable, contracted out to the Navy with a civilian crew, is a surveillance ship that gathers "underwater acoustical data" and was carrying out a routine mission, Whitman said.

Although Chinese ships and planes often approach US ships in international waters, the incident followed what the Defense Department said was "increasingly aggressive conduct by Chinese vessels" in the past week -- with Chinese boats steaming near US ships and aircraft flying low overhead.

The Chinese were testing the new US president and other countries would closely follow his response, a US Republican lawmaker said.

"This story will reverberate around the world and will be carefully watched in North Korea, Iran and Syria," said Republican Representative Mark Kirk, a US Navy reservist.

He urged the Obama administration to respond forcefully, perhaps by sending the unarmed surveillance ship "right back into the same area" -- this time with a destroyer escort, said Kirk.

The lawmaker said it was "surprising" that the Chinese challenged the US ship two and a half weeks before a summit in April between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao in London.

The Pentagon recounted several incidents over the past week in which it said Chinese ships and aircraft approached at close distance without warning.

On Saturday, a Chinese intelligence ship "challenged USNS Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or 'suffer the consequences.'"

The Defense Department called on the Chinese to refrain from actions that could "greatly increase the risk of collision or miscalculation," it said.

On April 1, 2001, US-China relations were seriously strained after a mid-air collision between a US surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter jet.

The collision killed the pilot of the Chinese jet and the US EP-3 spy plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Hainan Island. The 24-member US crew were held and interrogated until April 11.

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