HMS Birmingham faces down Japan at Tsingtao

What happened in the Tsingtao incident involving HMS Birmingham?

Birmingham placed an armed guard on the detained St Vincent de Paul and escorted her out under the guns of Japanese cruisers without either side opening fire.

Japanese authorities detained the British merchant ship St Vincent de Paul and raised a quarantine flag that prevented her master from visiting HMS Birmingham. Captain Brind sent Midshipman Ashmore and an armed party aboard the merchant ship with orders to prevent a substantial Japanese boarding and refer officials to the cruiser. Ashmore repeatedly refused access to officials who wanted to see the master. The master declined to advise him, leaving the boarding officer to follow his orders and take responsibility for the encounter. Birmingham then escorted the ship out, with a British sloop leading and the cruiser bringing up the rear. British and Japanese guns covered the opposing ships, but neither side fired. Ashmore's memoir names Ashigara, while other accounts describe her division; the number of Japanese cruisers still needed corroboration. The confrontation shows how an armed escort and explicit boarding orders could enforce a decision without opening fire.