USS Stethem (DDG 63) destroyer vessel arrives at a military port for an official visit, in Shanghai, China, November 16, 2015 (USS Stethem (DDG 63) kapal pemusnah tiba di pelabuhan tentera untuk lawatan rasmi, di Shanghai, China, November 16, 2015) © Stringer/Reuters
Srikandi - Ketegangan lebih aktiviti tentera laut Amerika Syarikat di Laut China Selatan telah tidak menghalang pemusnah Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat dari dok di Shanghai untuk latihan dijadualkan dengan tentera laut China. Kapal China dan Amerika Syarikat juga telah menjalankan latihan bersama di Florida awal bulan ini.
USS Stethem, Arleigh Burke kelas berpandu peluru berpandu pemusnah, adalah untuk mengambil bahagian dalam latihan komunikasi dan simulasi menyelamat permukaan dengan kapal dari tentera laut Tentera Pembebasan Rakyat (PLAN). Lawatan selama seminggu kapal adalah bertujuan untuk membina kepercayaan antara kedua-dua tentera laut, Komander Harry Marsh, kepala USS Stethem, kepada pemberita.
Kelasi Amerika Syarikat akan belajar tentang amalan rakan-rakan Cina mereka "supaya apabila kami beroperasi di laut kita boleh melakukannya dengan selamat, dan kita faham apa yang mereka lakukan dan apa yang kita lakukan," Marsh kepada pemberita, menurut AFP. "Negara-negara mungkin mempunyai beberapa perbezaan pendapat, namun tentera laut kami dapat beroperasi dengan selamat di laut."
Latihan dijadual bulan lebih awal, lama sebelum satu lagi kapal Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat belayar terlalu hampir ke sebuah pulau di Laut China Selatan yang Beijing mendakwa sebagai wilayah kedaulatan. Dikenali di Barat sebagai Kepulauan Spratly, kepulauan terumbu juga dituntut oleh Filipina, Vietnam, Malaysia, dan Brunei.
Pada 27 Oktober, USS Lassen, satu lagi kelas pemusnah Arleigh Burke, belayar dalam radius 12 batu dari sebuah pulau di mana China telah membina landasan kapal terbang dan lain-lain kemudahan di atas darat tebus guna. Yang "kebebasan pelayaran" Operasi mendorong bantahan daripada Beijing.
"Tindakan kapal perang Amerika Syarikat adalah ancaman kepada kedaulatan dan keselamatan China, dan keselamatan penduduk yang tinggal di pulau-pulau; mereka merosakkan keamanan dan kestabilan di rantau ini. Dalam hal ini, pihak Cina meluahkan rasa tidak puas hati yang melampau dan kuat membantah, "Kementerian Luar China berkata dalam satu kenyataan.
US ship to drill with Chinese navy amid tensions
Tensions over US naval activity in the South China Sea have not prevented a US Navy destroyer from docking in Shanghai for scheduled drills with the Chinese navy. Chinese and US ships also conducted joint exercises in Florida earlier this month.
The USS Stethem, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, is to take part in communications exercises and a surface rescue simulation with vessels from the navy of the People’s Liberation Army (PLAN). The ship’s weeklong visit is intended to build trust between the two navies, Commander Harry Marsh, the captain of the USS Stethem, told reporters.
READ MORE: China furious after US Navy destroyer passes disputed islands in S. China Sea (BACA lebih lanjut: China berang selepas US Navy pemusnah pas pulau-pulau yang dipertikaikan di Laut China Selatan)http://on.rt.com/6urp
US sailors will learn about the practices of their Chinese colleagues “so that when we operate at sea we can do it safely, and we understand what they are doing and what we do,” Marsh told reporters, according to AFP. “Countries may have some disagreements, yet our navies are able to operate safely at sea.”
The drill was scheduled months in advance, long before another US Navy ship sailed dangerously close to an island in the South China Sea that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory. Known in the West as the Spratly Islands, the reef archipelago is also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
On October 27, the USS Lassen, another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, sailed within the 12-mile radius of an island where China has built an airstrip and other facilities on reclaimed land. The “freedom of navigation” operation prompted protests from Beijing.
“These actions of the US warship are a threat to the sovereignty and security of China, and safety of people living on the islands; they damage peace and stability in the region. In this regard, the Chinese side expresses extreme dissatisfaction and strongly protests,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
U.S., China Hold #NavalExercises in #Atlantic UPI, November 9, 2015http://upi.com/6154442t via @upi #USChina #Navy
Beberapa hari kemudian, bagaimanapun, beberapa kapal China tiba di Florida untuk latihan bersama dengan Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat. Yiyang, kapal peluru berpandu frigat; pemusnah peluru berpandu, Jinan; dan Qiandao Hu, sebuah kapal tangki minyak armada melawat Pelabuhan Tentera Laut Mayport Amerika Syarikat di Jacksonville, Florida pada November 3, UPI dilaporkan.
Kapal-kapal Cina telah disertai oleh USS Mason, pemusnah peluru berpandu; USS Monterey, cruiser peluru berpandu; dan kapal-kapal Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat yang lain pada 7 November Mereka menjalankan latihan selama 6 jam di Atlantik yang melibatkan "penyelarasan komunikasi maritim, operasi armada dan misi menyelamat," UPI melaporkan, memetik sumber-sumber Cina.
Just days later, however, several Chinese ships arrived in Florida for joint exercises with the US Navy. The Yiyang, a guided missile frigate; the Jinan, a guided missile destroyer; and the Qiandao Hu, a fleet oil tanker visited the Mayport US Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida on November 3, UPI reported.
The Chinese vessels were joined by the USS Mason, a missile destroyer; the USS Monterey, a guided missile cruiser; and other US Navy ships on November 7. They conducted a six-hour exercise in the Atlantic involving the “coordination of maritime communications, fleet operations and rescue missions,” UPI reported, citing Chinese sources.
Russian, Chinese warships to hold joint historic drills in Black Sea, Mediterranean (Rusia, kapal perang China untuk mengadakan latihan bersejarah bersama di Laut Hitam, Mediterranean) http://on.rt.com/72r4wz
Secara rasmi cawangan maritim Tentera Pembebasan Rakyat, tentera laut China telah berkembang daripada sebuah pasukan pertahanan pantai untuk armada yang mampu mengunjurkan tenaga di luar negara. Pada bulan Ogos, PELAN dan tentera laut Rusia menjalankan gerakan bersama di Laut Jepun, manakala pada Mei 2 kapal frigat Cina melakukan lawatan bersejarah ke Laut Hitam armada Rusia untuk menandakan ulang tahun ke-70 kemenangan dalam Perang DUNIA II. Kedua-dua kapal itu, Linyi dan Weifang, kemudian menyertai armada Rusia untuk latihan maritim di Mediterranean.
Kapal Rusia dijadual menyertai tentera laut China untuk latihan bersama di Laut China Selatan pada Mei 2016, Kementerian Pertahanan Rusia telah mengesahkannya.
Officially a maritime branch of the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese navy has evolved from a coastal defense force to a fleet capable of projecting force abroad. In August, the PLAN and the Russian navy conducted joint maneuvers in the Sea of Japan, while in May two Chinese frigates made a historic visit to Russia’s Black Sea fleet to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II. The two ships, the Linyi and the Weifang, then joined the Russian fleet for maritime drills in the Mediterranean.
Russian ships are scheduled to join the Chinese navy for joint exercises in the South China Sea in May 2016, the Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed.
