China might escort ships in Gulf under U.S. proposal – envoy

By Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI (Reuters) – China might escort Chinese commercial vessels in Gulf waters under a U.S. proposal for a maritime coalition to secure oil shipping lanes following attacks on tankers, its envoy to the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday.

“If there happens to be a very unsafe situation we will consider having our navy escort our commercial vessels,” Ambassador Ni Jian told Reuters in Abu Dhabi.

“We are studying the U.S. proposal on Gulf escort arrangements,” China’s embassy later said in a text message.

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Source: euronews.com

Iran asks China for support as Royal Navy warship arrives in the Gulf

Senior Chinese politician told UK and USA are ‘fanning flames of war’ during visit to Tehran

By Max Channon

Iran has reportedly asked China for its support in the Gulf, as Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer HMS Duncan arrived in the region.

The state – which seized a British-flagged tanker in retaliation for a UK operation involving Royal Marines from Plymouth which saw an Iranian tanker seized near Gibraltar earlier this month – has also condemned UK calls for a European-led naval mission to escort tankers in the Gulf.

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Source: plymouthherald.co.uk

MPA Singapore Rejects Chinese Security Alert

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has responded to China’s decision to raise the security level for its vessels heading through the Strait of Malacca, asserting that no information has been received about an immediate threat.

According to Bloomberg, a notice was served by China’s transport ministry on July 2, advising Chinese-flagged vessels to adopt heightened security measures and raise their security warning to level three.

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Source: porttechnology.org

China raises attack alert in Malacca Strait to highest level

Shipping companies are asked by authorities in Beijing to increase the security level on ships transiting the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest waterways. Cosco Shipping’s tanker unit has warned its staff about possible attacks from some Indonesian gangs

Cichen Shen

‘The raising of the threat level for Chinese-flagged vessels has been unexpected, particularly as the regional dynamics within and surrounding the Malacca Strait are stable’ — maritime security intelligence company Dryad Global

BEIJING has raised the security level on Chinese-flagged vessels transiting the Straits of Malacca, according to documents seen by Lloyd’s List.

Shipping companies have been advised to implement Security Level 3 — the highest state of alertness under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code — effective from 2200hrs local time July 2, the Ministry of Transport said in a notification.

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Source: lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com

Mozambique Loses as Foreigners Plunder Its Coast

Comprising one-fifth of the earth’s population, China consumes more than a third of the fish pulled from the planet’s waters. With its demand outpacing supply, fisheries from China have joined other nations and set their eyes and their nets on African waters without concern for sovereignty or law.

Africans struggling to emerge from poverty are paying the price for these predations. Mozambique alone has lost 300,000 badly-needed jobs and as much as $3.3 billion in revenue – 10 times the amount East African nations make in legally licensing fishing by foreign vessels, according to the non-profit Stop Illegal Fishing.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

India spends big on Maldives security

Indian leader Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a coastal radar system and military training center in the Maldives on Saturday, as New Delhi seeks to fend off Chinese influence in the strategically-placed nation

The Maldives, a low-lying archipelago of more than a thousand tiny coral islands south of the Indian subcontinent, straddles the world’s busiest east-west maritime route.

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Source: english.alarabiya.net

A Maldivian coast guard ship *Hurawee* (801) (formerly Indian Navy Ship Tillanchang T62) serves as a non-compliant vessel during an exercise for a visit, board, search and seizure team assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Dubuque (LPD 8). Dubuque is participating in Operation Bungalow Breeze with the Maldives National Defense Forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David McKee/Released)

US, Japan Conduct Cooperative Naval Deployment in Strait of Malacca

By Ankit Panda

A U.S. Navy warship joined two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for a cooperative deployment in the strategic Malacca Strait on May 18.

USS William P. Lawrence, a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, joined the MSDF’s Izumo-class helicopter carrier JS Izumo and Murasame-class destroyer JS Murasame in the Malacca Strait.

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Source: thediplomat.com