Pentagon calls South China Sea missile test ‘disturbing’

Bloomberg

The US denounced as “coercive acts” Chinese anti-ship missile tests in the disputed South China Sea, underscoring continued strategic tensions between the two Pacific powers even as they restart trade talks.
China fired at least one missile into the sea over the weekend and was expected to continue testing through a launch window that continued until on Wednesday, NBC News reported, citing anonymous US officials familiar with the matter.
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said the tests near the Spratly Islands represented a “truly disturbing” violation of President Xi Jinping’s 2015 statement
that China “does not intend to pursue militarisation” in the water body.
“The PRC’s behaviour is contrary to its claim to want to bring peace to the region and obviously actions like this are coercive acts meant to intimidate other SCS claimants,” Eastburn said in a statement.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang referred questions about the incident to the military. The Ministry of National Defense didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

Navigation Rights
The missiles could be used to target US warships that occasionally assert free-navigation rights by sailing close to occupied Spratlys features, including a patrol by two destroyers.
The US rescinded China’s invitation to multinational military exercises last year after revealing the country had deployed missile batteries on
reclaimed reefs.
The launch occurred while US President Donald Trump was in the region for a series of summits including a meeting with Xi, in which the two leaders decided to resume trade talks.
The economic dispute has helped surface a host of strategic differences between the two sides, including American complaints that China’s military moves pose a threat to navigation in the vital shipping lane.

China ups security warning on ships plying Malacca Strait
Bloomberg

China raised the security level for its vessels heading through the Strait of Malacca, a key Asian trade route and major oil choke point.
The transport ministry advised Chinese-flagged ships to take heightened security steps and increased its security warning to level three, according to a copy of an earlier notice posted on a website affiliated with the ministry.
Three is the highest security level in Chinese shipping regulations, and one above a warning issued after recent attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing government notifications. The ministry wasn’t immediately able to comment.
There was no reason given for the raised alert in the Strait of Malacca, a stretch of water passing Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia that connects the Indian and Pacific oceans.