Sorry about the improper wording but I'm sure you understood what I was meaning. The presence of multiple press correspondents on that ship during this incident proves beyond doubt - if anyone ever had any - that there was nothing innocent about it, neither in the usual nor legal meaning of the word.
It was certainly an act of propaganda as per 2 (d) UNCLS and equally certainly an exercise in collecting information on military defenses 2 (c). But that's beside the point. The UK, probably on the behest of the US, is involved in aggressively "poking" the Bear or the Panda for that matter. I understand the need to maintain a state of tension to insure proper funding of the contractors but it is a dangerous game.