For some time, some countries outside the region, such as the U.S. “We pay close attention to and stay highly vigilant about the movements of the U.S.
After Bunker Hill and Parramatta sailed near West Cappella, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, the director general of the Information Office inside China’s Ministry of National Defense, issued a statement during a regularly scheduled media briefing. and allied navy ships in the South China Sea are typically followed with statements from Chinese government officials condemning the operations. In late April, guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) sailed with the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Parramatta (FFG-154) before joining the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) and guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52) to conduct combined exercises in the area. Gabrielle Giffords operated near West Cappella a week earlier. Montgomery and Cesar Chavez represent the third time the U.S. The Malaysian-state-owned Petronas hired West Capella to prospect in areas of the South China Sea claimed by both Malaysia and China, Greg Poling, a senior fellow for Southeast Asia and the director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told USNI News in an email.
Last week, the Navy sent Montgomery and replenishment ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14) to conduct a presence operation near Panamanian-flagged drillship West Capella. USS Montgomery (LCS-8) conducts routine operations near Panamanian flagged drillship, West Capella, on in the South China Sea. Quarterdeck watchstanders are screening anyone who walks aboard and referring sailors with symptoms for medical evaluation,” Chatmas said.Ĭhatmas would not release a specific number of days the ships have been at sea, but both ships have recently been involved in recent operations intended to send a message to other nations in the Western Pacific.
“Our ships are enforcing social distancing, minimizing group gatherings, wearing personal protective equipment and have been conducting deep-cleaning stations twice a day. Lauren Chatmas, a spokeswoman for Destroyer Squadron Seven (DESRON 7) in Singapore, told USNI News. Navy employed a strategy of keeping its warships operating while crews take appropriate measures the Navy believes will safeguard them from coming into contact with COVID-19 or spreading the virus.įor example, Littoral Combat Ships USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) and USS Montgomery (LCS-8), which are both deployed to Singapore, have been limiting crew interactions with people on shore while in port and spending a significant amount of time at sea, Lt. However, during the past few weeks, the U.S. Navy is continuing to run missions to ensure freedom of navigation and show presence in the Western Pacific while other militaries are scaling back their operations amid COVID-19 concerns.Ī host of militaries in the region have called-off multi-nation exercises scheduled for this year and have claimed to scale back their military operations as a way of stopping the spread of COVID-19 through their ranks, according to several international navy officials. Sailors and Marines conduct flight operations from the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) with aircraft assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 on April 9, 2020.
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