On 24 March 2001, Bowditch encountered a PLA Navy frigate, which came within 100 metres (330 ft), while operating in the Yellow Sea near South Korea and was forced to leave.

[2] In March 2001, India protested Bowditch's activities after discovering her operating around 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) away from the Nicobar Islands.

[3] On 24 September 2002, Bowditch was harassed by Chinese patrol boats and aircraft and forced to leave while operating in the Yellow Sea.

[2] In 2013 Bowditch was engaged in surveying at Tacloban shortly after typhoon Haiyan in advance of the Navy's Operation Damayan in an area known for its shifting hazards to navigation using her multi-beam contour mapping system.

[4] An American Littoral Battlespace Sensing (LBS) or similar underwater glider deployed by Bowditch was seized by a Dalang-III class submarine rescue vessel of the PLA Navy on 15 December 2016, resulting in a formal diplomatic protest.