I really doubt that such on-the-spot adventurism is tolerated in the Chinese Navy. against a commercial ship this could be plausible but against a navy vessel belonging to another country? If you were the captain of a Chinese Navy ship, would you want to be summoned to Beijing to explain why President Xi had unexpectedly received a nastygram from Washington?
Perhaps you are right and I'm misinterpreting early versions of the story, but my impression is that the Chinese military values conformity and command structures rather than spontaneity and initiative. Centralization and respect for hierarchy are hallmarks of Chinese culture.