US Sailors Lost in the South China Sea
(Image source ) here
BEIJING - China says it is coordinating with the United States (US) navy to search for missing US sailors in the South China Sea (LCS). This is a rare goodwill event between the navy in the disputed waters.
The 7th US Fleet said that US and Japanese vessels were looking for unnamed sailors from the destroyer USS Stethem lost during routine operations in an unspecified part of the LCS.
It said some searches were done inside the ship, but in vain.
China's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Liuzhou missile frigates are in the nearest waters performing war preparedness tasks.
"And based on the spirit of humanity, and in accordance with the code for an unplanned meeting at sea, coordinate operations with the United States," the defense ministry said in a statement on Thursday (3/8/2017).
It is said that the sailors were missing when the US ship was located more than 100 miles southwest of Scarborough Shoal's contested sea, but not described in detail.
China claims almost all of the LCS, of which about $ 5 trillion is derived from trading vessels. An attitude opposed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Washington has criticized the construction of artificial islands by Beijing and built military facilities there. The US is concerned that they can be used to restrict free navigation and expand China's strategic reach.
But Chinese officials say that the operation of "freedom of navigation" U.S. In these waters violate China's sovereignty and heighten tensions in the region.
China says one of the reasons for building the island is to better fulfill its humanitarian obligations and search and rescue at sea.
In June, the US navy said that a sailor had been found alive on a USS Shiloh ship after US and Japanese ships spent 50 hours searching thousands of square miles of water in the Philippines.
(Image source ) here https://international.sindonews.com/read/1226985/40/pelaut-as-hilang-di-laut-china-selatan-1501776936
Thursday, August 3, 2017 - 23:15 pm
