SYDNEY: A British warship will sail from Australia through the disputed South China Sea next month to assert freedom of navigation rights, a senior official said Tuesday in a move likely to irk Beijing.
China claims nearly all of the resource-rich waterway and has been turning reefs and islets into islands and installing military facilities such as runways and equipment on them.
British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said HMS Sutherland, an anti-submarine frigate, would arrive in Australia later this week.
“She’ll be sailing through the South China Sea (on the way home) and making it clear our navy has a right to do that,” he told The Australian newspaper after a two-day visit to Sydney and Canberra.
He would not say whether the frigate would sail within 12 nautical miles of a disputed territory or artificial island built by the Chinese, as US ships have done.
But he said: “We absolutely support the US approach on this, we very much support what the US has been doing.”
In January, Beijing said it had dispatched a warship to drive away a US missile destroyer which had “violated” its sovereignty by sailing close to a shoal in the sea.
Williamson said it was important that US allies such as Britain and Australia “assert our values” in the South China Sea, which is believed to hold vast oil and gas deposits and through which $5.0 trillion in trade passes annually.
“World dynamics are shifting so greatly. The US can only concentrate on so many things at once,” he said.
“The US is looking for other countries to do more. This is a great opportunity for the UK and Australia to do more, to exercise leadership.”
China in December defended its construction on disputed islands, which are also claimed by Southeast Asian neighbors, as “normal” after a US think tank released new satellite images showing the deployment of radar and other equipment.
In a separate interview with broadcaster ABC, Williamson warned of the need for vigilance to “any form of malign intent” from China, as it seeks to become a global superpower.
“Australia and Britain see China as a country of great opportunities, but we shouldn’t be blind to the ambition that China has and we’ve got to defend our national security interests,” he said.
“We’ve got to ensure that any form of malign intent is countered and we see increasing challenges — it’s not just from China, it’s from Russia, it’s from Iran — and we’ve got to be constantly making sure that our security measures, our critical national infrastructure is protected.”
Australia has been ratcheting up the rhetoric against China in recent months, with ties tested in December when parliament singled out Beijing as a focus of concern when it proposed laws on foreign interference.
British warship to sail through disputed South China Sea
British warship to sail through disputed South China Sea
Winter storm packing snow and strong winds to descend on Great Lakes, Northeast
- The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo, New York, while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed — even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile
NEW YORK: A wild winter storm was expected to bring strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures to the Great Lakes and Northeast on Tuesday, a day after a bomb cyclone barreled across the northern US and left tens of thousands of customers without power.
The storm that hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday brought sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain, leading to treacherous travel. Forecasters said it intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops.
Nationwide, more than 127,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning, more than a third of them in Michigan, according to Poweroutage.us.
BACKGROUND
The storm that hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday brought sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain, leading to treacherous travel.
As the storm moved into Canada, the National Weather Service predicted more inclement weather conditions for the Eastern US, including quick bursts of heavy snow and gusty winds known as snow squalls. Blustery winds were expected to add to the arctic chill, with low temperatures dipping below freezing as far south as the Florida panhandle, the agency said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned that whiteout conditions were expected Tuesday in parts of the state, including the Syracuse metro area.
“If you’re in an impacted area, please avoid all unnecessary travel,” she said in a post on the social platform X.
Snow piled up quickly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Monday, where as much as 2 feet (60 centimeters) fell in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Ryan Metzger said additional snow was expected in the coming days, although totals would be far lighter.
Waves on Lake Superior that were expected to reach 20 feet (6 meters) on Monday sent all but one cargo ship into harbors for shelter, according to MarineTraffic.com.
The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo, New York, while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed — even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile.
Kevin Aldrich, 33, a maintenance worker from Monroe, Michigan, said he has never seen the lake recede so much and was surprised on Monday to spot remnants of piers dating back to the 1830s. He posted photos on social media of wooden pilings sticking up several feet from the muck.
“Where those are at would typically be probably 12 feet deep,” he said. “We can usually drive our boat over them.”
Dangerous wind chills plunged as low as minus 30 F (minus 34 C) across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota on Monday. And in northeast West Virginia, rare, nearly hurricane-force winds were recorded on a mountain near Dolly Sods, according to the National Weather Service.
In Iowa, after blizzard conditions eased by Monday morning, high winds continued blowing snow across roadways, keeping more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) of Interstate 35 closed. State troopers reported dozens of crashes during the storm, including one that killed a person.
On the West Coast, the National Weather Service warned that moderate to strong Santa Ana winds were expected in parts of Southern California through Tuesday, raising concerns about downed trees in areas where recent storms had saturated the soil. Two more storms were forecast later this week, with rain on New Year’s Day potentially soaking the Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in about two decades.
