Navy assists US in search of sailor lost in South China Sea

BEIJING: China said that it was coordinating with the US navy in the search for a missing US sailor in the South China Sea, a rare show of goodwill between the navies in the disputed waters.

The US 7th Fleet said on Tuesday that US and Japanese ships were looking for an unnamed sailor from the USS Stethem destroyer who had gone missing during a routine operation in an unspecified section of the South China Sea.

It said multiple searches were conducted inside the ship, but to no avail.

China’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that its Liuzhou guided-missile frigate was in nearby waters conducting war-readiness duties, and “on the basis of humanitarian spirit, and according to the code for unplanned encounters at sea, carried out operational coordination with the US side”.

It said the sailor went missing when the US ship had been more than 100 nautical miles southwest of the contested Scarborough Shoal, but did not elaborate.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion (RM21.4 trillion) in ship-borne trade passes each year, a stance contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Washington has criticised Beijing’s construction of islands and build-up of military facilities there, concerned they could be used to restrict free movement and extend China’s strategic reach.

But Chinese officials say that US “freedom of navigation” operations in the waters violate China’s sovereignty and raise tensions in the region.

China has said one of the reasons for its island building is to better meet its humanitarian and search and rescue obligations at sea.