WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- 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 USS John S. McCain , left , anchored at the port of Incheon 40 km west of Seoul , Korea in March 2004 . The array was damaged , but the sub and the ship did not collide , the official said . A sonar array is a device towed behind a ship that listens and locates underwater sounds . The incident occurred near Subic Bay off the coast of the Philippines . The official , who declined to be named because the incident had not been made public , would not say whether the U.S. ship knew the submarine was that close to it . However , the Navy does not believe this was a deliberate incident of Chinese harassment , as it would have been extremely dangerous had the array gotten caught in the submarine 's propellers . The Navy has complained in the past that Chinese vessels , including fishing boats , have deliberately tried to disrupt U.S. naval activities in international waters near China . In one widely publicized incident in March , five Chinese vessels maneuvered close enough to the USNS Impeccable to warrant the use of a fire hose by the unarmed American vessel to avoid a collision . The Navy later released video of that incident .
The array was damaged , but the sub and the ship did not collide . Navy does not believe it was a deliberate incident of Chinese harassment . Navy has complained of Chinese vessels disrupting U.S. naval activities .