----- Forwarded
Message -----
From: TRAN TRONG-NHAN trn_
To: HUYET-HOA <
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 01:18:40 PM CDT
Subject: [HUYET-HOA] Australia joins U.S. ships in
South China Sea amid rising tension
World
Australia joins U.S. ships in South China Sea amid rising
tension
ReutersApril 22, 2020, 12:07 AM CDT
By Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - An Australian frigate has joined
three U.S. warships in the South China Sea near an area where a Chinese vessel
is suspected to be exploring for oil, near waters also claimed by Vietnam and
Malaysia, officials said on Wednesday.
The warships arrived this week close to where the Chinese
government survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 has been operating, which is in turn
near where a vessel operated by Malaysia’s Petronas state oil company is
conducting exploratory drilling, regional security sources have said.
The U.S. navy said on Tuesday the USS America amphibious
assault ship and the USS Bunker Hill, a guided missile cruiser, were operating
in the South China Sea.
They were joined by Australia's frigate HMAS Parramatta
and a third U.S. vessel, the destroyer USS Barry, as part of a joint exercise,
the Australian defence department said.
"During the passage exercises, the ships honed
interoperability between Australian and US navies, including
replenishment-at-sea, aviation operations, maritime manoeuvres and
communications drills," it said in a statement to Reuters.
The Haiyang Dizhi 8 was 325 km (202 miles) off the
Malaysian coast, within its exclusive economic zone, data from ship-tracking
website Marine Traffic showed on Wednesday.
The ship, accompanied by a Chinese coastguard vessel, has
been moving in a hash-shaped pattern consistent with a seismic survey for
nearly a week, the data showed.
The area is near waters claimed by both Vietnam and
Malaysia as well as China.
China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea,
within a U-shaped "nine-dash line" on its maps, which is not
recognised by its neighbours.
Petronas and Malaysia's foreign ministry have not
commented on the situation but the United States has called on China to stop
its "bullying behaviour" in the South China Sea.
China, however, has denied reports of a standoff, saying
the Haiyang Dizhi 8 was conducting normal activities.
Last year, Vietnamese vessels spent months shadowing the
Haiyang Dizhi 8.
It appeared off Vietnam again last week, within Vietnam's
exclusive economic zone. Vietnam said it was closely monitoring the situation.
The United States has accused China of pushing its
presence in the South China Sea while other claimants are pre-occupied with the
coronavirus.
At the same time, China has been donating medical aid to
Southeast Asian countries to help them tackle the virus, which emerged in
central China late last year.
A team
of Chinese medical experts arrived this week in Malaysia, which has reported
more than 5,400 coronavirus infections.
On Sunday, Vietnam protested after China said it had
established two administrative districts on the Paracel and Spratly islands in
the disputed waters. China has called Vietnam's claims illegal.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Robert Birsel)
__._,_.___
No comments:
Post a Comment