Tag: Navy

US aircraft carrier arrives in S. Korea for joint drills

SEOUL, June 22, 2024 (AFP) – A US aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a joint military drills aimed to better counter North Korean threats, Seoul’s navy said. The announcement came a day after South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul to protest a defence deal signed by President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang this week, which included a pledge to come to each other’s aid […]

China, Russia, Iran holding joint naval drills

BEIJING, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – The navies of China, Russia and Iran are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, Beijing said Monday. The military activities — to be conducted from Monday through Friday — are aimed at “jointly maintaining regional maritime security”, according to a statement published on social media platform WeChat by China’s defence ministry. “China will send… guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, guided-missile frigate Linyi and comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu […]

Pacific power play: Australia plans largest navy since WWII

SYDNEY, Feb 20, 2024 (AFP) – Australia on Tuesday outlined a decade-long plan to double its fleet of major warships and boost defence spending by an additional US$7 billion, in the face of a quickening Asia-Pacific arms race. Under the plan, Australia will get a navy of 26 major surface combatant ships, up from 11 today. “It is the largest fleet that we will have since the end of the Second World War,” said Defence […]

India navy says responding to Arabian Sea vessel hijack

NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – India’s navy said Friday it was responding to the apparent hijacking of a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea, the latest incident of attacks on commercial shipping in the region. Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a drone attack near India’s coast blamed on Iran by the United States. It comes […]

Chinese sonar pulses ‘likely’ injured divers: Australia defence chief

SYDNEY, Nov 18, 2023 (AFP) – Australian navy divers were “likely” injured by sonar pulses emitted by a Chinese warship this week, the country’s defence minister said Saturday, accusing Beijing of “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct at sea. Richard Marles said the HMAS Toowoomba — a long-range frigate — had been supporting United Nations sanctions enforcement efforts within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The divers had plunged into the water to clear fishing nets from the ship’s […]

China navy training ship visits the Philippines

MANILA, June 14, 2023 (AFP) — A Chinese navy training vessel berthed in the Philippines on Wednesday for a rare port visit as the two countries contest reefs and waters in the South China Sea. Dragon dances and a brass band greeted the 165-metre (542-foot) Qi Jiguang in Manila to mark its final stop on a Southeast Asian tour through Vietnam, Thailand and Brunei. “It’s a goodwill visit,” Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian […]

US, China join naval drills in Indonesia despite rifts

JAKARTA, June 5, 2023 (AFP) – The United States and China have sent warships to the multinational naval drills that began in Indonesia on Monday, despite the rifts between the two powers. Washington and Beijing are engaged in fierce competition on diplomatic, military, technological and economic fronts. The US military has stepped up its Asia-Pacific operations to counter an increasingly assertive China, which has recently staged several rounds of war drills around Taiwan. But both […]

Panama says Iran warships might be allowed through canal

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) — Iranian naval ships will be allowed to sail through the Panama Canal as long as they abide by international norms, Panamanian authorities said Tuesday following reports that Teheran was sending vessels to the strategic waterway. An Iranian military presence in the Canal would anger the United States, which built the channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the beginning of the 20th century, and Washington has warned that it […]

Six more bodies recovered after sinking of Thai warship

Bangkok, Thailand (AFP) Six more bodies have been recovered from the sea after a Thai warship went down in the Gulf of Thailand six days ago, the country’s navy said Saturday. The HTMS Sukhothai sank late Sunday roughly 37 kilometres (22 miles) off Thailand’s southeastern coast, with a massive rescue operation managing to pull 76 crew alive from the waves. Seventeen members of the 105-strong crew are still missing. “Today we have recovered a total […]

Six dead as Thai navy continues search for missing sailors

Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand  (AFP) by Montira Rungjirajittranon with Thanaporn Promyamyai in Bangkok Six bodies have been found and one survivor was rescued Tuesday, after the sinking of a naval vessel two days ago in the Gulf of Thailand, the Thai navy said. Seventy-six sailors from the HTMS Sukhothai have been hauled from the sea after the vessel went down late Sunday roughly 37 kilometres (22 miles) off the country’s southeastern coast. There were 23 […]

Four dead as Thai navy continues search for missing sailors

  Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand (AFP) by Montira RUNGJIRAJITTRANON Four bodies were recovered in the Gulf of Thailand on Tuesday, the Thai navy chief said, following the sinking of a naval vessel two days ago. More than 70 survivors from the HTMS Sukhothai have been hauled from the sea since the vessel went down late Sunday roughly 37 kilometres (22 miles) off Thailand’s southeastern coast. Rescuers in helicopters, two planes, and four vessels — the […]

Thai navy hunts for 31 sailors after vessel sinks

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Thailand (AFP) — Thai military frigates and helicopters kept up the search late Monday for more than 30 sailors missing after a naval vessel sank, with dozens of others already hauled from the choppy waters. The HTMS Sukhothai capsized late Sunday as it was patrolling the Gulf of Thailand, about 37 kilometers (22 miles) off the Southeast Asian nation’s southeastern coast. Some sailors survived by jumping into a life raft at night, […]