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| DATE | 2020-05-15 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] To take you mind off the pandemic,
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U.S. Warships Support Malaysia Against China Pressure in South China Sea
wsj.com
U.S. Warships Support Malaysia Against China Pressure in South China Sea
Niharika Mandhana
7-8 minutes
The U.S. has sent three naval ships on patrols near oil-and-gas
operations off Malaysia’s coast in recent days, a show of support for
the Southeast Asian nation whose offshore explorations in the South
China Sea have faced pressure from China.
The littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords on Tuesday sailed close
to a drillship named West Capella, contracted by Malaysia’s national oil
company, after two other U.S. naval vessels patrolled there last week.
The U.S. Navy called these presence operations.
U.S. officials have accused China of coercing smaller countries out of
developing offshore resources. Navy officials said the operations show
America’s commitment to the region and the Navy’s capability.
The flurry of activity has included exercises in the South China Sea
last month that involved three American warships and an Australian navy
frigate. It comes at a time when a coronavirus outbreak aboard aircraft
carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has raised questions about the U.S.’s
military readiness, said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S.
Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
Tensions intensified mid-April when a Chinese oil-and-gas survey ship
arrived close to where the Malaysia-authorized West Capella was
operating. Even before that, Chinese coast-guard vessels had been
patrolling around the drillship, maintaining an intimidating presence,
according to an analysis of ship-tracking data and satellite imagery by
the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
Chinese coast-guard ships and fishing-militia ships escorted the Chinese
survey vessel, which at one point was as close as 8.5 nautical miles
from the West Capella, the analysis found.
The survey vessel, called Haiyang Dizhi 8, was no stranger to security
officials in the region. Last year, it was at the center of a monthslong
maritime standoff with Vietnam over an offshore-drilling project that
Hanoi had authorized and Beijing wanted stopped.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea and objects to
oil-and-gas operations that don’t involve Beijing. An international
tribunal ruled in 2016 that its claims—which overlap with those of
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines—have no legal
basis. Beijing rejected the ruling.
China’s foreign ministry said in response to questions Wednesday that
its research vessel was “conducting normal activities in the oceanic
area governed by China.” It urged the U.S., which it referred to as the
“relevant country outside the area,” not to take actions that could
further complicate the situation.
The novel coronavirus has escalated tensions between the U.S. and China
in ways that will likely linger after the virus is contained. WSJ’s
Gerald F. Seib explains. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
West Capella left the area Tuesday after completing its task, according
to Seadrill Partners LLC, the Bermuda-headquartered, offshore-drilling
company whose fleet the ship belongs to. The Chinese survey ship
remained in the area, data from maritime intelligence provider
MarineTraffic showed.
For countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, the presence of Chinese ships
close to their energy projects creates the risk of an accidental
collision and escalation of tensions with militarily-superior Beijing.
It also makes oil-and-gas companies nervous about their business
activities becoming a potential international flashpoint, officials and
experts say.
Ultimately, the operations seek to pressure Southeast Asian countries
into developing offshore resources jointly with China, said Mr. Koh, the
Singapore-based security expert. Beijing is pursuing such a deal with
the Philippines.
Many officials in the region are also wary of U.S. naval operations,
which they say help check China’s assertiveness but could also spark
clashes at sea or drag smaller states into the broader rivalry between
the two powers. Southeast Asian security officials have long raised
questions about the U.S.’s reliability.
Malaysia hasn’t commented on the specifics of the situation but said
last month that it is firm in its commitment to safeguard its interests
and rights in the South China Sea. The government and national oil
company, Petronas, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The USS Gabrielle Giffords sails away from the drillship.
Photo: Brenton Poyser/U.S. NAVY
The episode has added to tensions between the U.S. and China, which have
already surged over the pandemic. The commander of the U.S. Pacific
Fleet, Adm. John Aquilino, said last week: “The Chinese Communist Party
must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil,
gas, and fisheries.”
He echoed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who last month accused Beijing
of “exploiting the world’s focus on the Covid-19 crisis by continuing
its provocative behavior” in the South China Sea. China’s foreign
ministry responded at the time: “China will always resolutely safeguard
its sovereignty, security and development interests, no matter what, no
matter when.”
China has expanded its control over the South China Sea in recent years.
Its large fleets of coast-guard and fishing-militia vessels patrol areas
far from the country’s shores, supported by the artificial islands. In
January, they were involved in a standoff with Indonesian forces at the
southern end of the South China Sea. Chinese fishing vessels have
swarmed the waters around a Philippine-controlled island.
Last year, the Chinese survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 operated for months
off Vietnam’s coast. Chinese coast-guard ships asked Vietnamese forces
to halt drilling operations in an offshore block licensed by Hanoi to
Russian state-owned company Rosneft. The standoff ended only when the
drilling rig completed its mission and left the area.
Write to Niharika Mandhana at niharika.mandhana-at-wsj.com
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