BEIJING (AP) - China has accused a U.S. Navy mapping ship of conducting illegal activity inside China’s exclusive economic zone, a Hong Kong television station reported Monday - Beijing’s first response to a new crisis between the two militaries.

The U.S. Defense Department says Chinese ships surrounded and harassed the Navy vessel in international waters Sunday, at one point coming within 25 feet (8 meters) of the American boat and strewing debris in its path.

However, Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television cited an unidentified diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in Washington as saying that Beijing considered the ship to be in violation of Chinese and international law and had sent ships to interdict it.

"This official emphasized that China cannot accept Washington’s groundless accusations (and) the Chinese side demands America cease such illegal surveying activities and engage in more matters conducive to the stable development of China-U.S. relations,"Phoenix reported.

The episode took place in international waters in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Hainan Island.

Calls to China’s Defense Minister rang unanswered Tuesday, while the Foreign Ministry declined to immediately comment.

The USNS Impeccable, a surveillance ship, resorted to spraying one Chinese vessel with water from fire hoses to force it away. Despite the impact of the water, Chinese crew members stripped to their underwear and continued closing in, the U.S. Defense Department said.