Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departed the Port Klang Cruise Terminal in Malaysia on Wednesday, according to the Royal Malaysian Navy.
The carrier is now sailing down the Malacca Strait heading to the South China Sea. In other developments a Russian surface action group and a Russian submarine are back again in the South China Sea after completing port visits to Thailand and Malaysia while Japanese forces have tracked several People’s Liberation Army Navy ships sailing near Japan.
Lincoln had docked in on Saturday for a four day liberty call following operations in the Central Command area. The carrier’s visit was the first since the arrest of Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis in 2013, who previously owned the cruise terminal.
Also departing from the cruise terminal on Wednesday was Japan Maritime Self Defense Force destroyer JS Samidare (DD-106) which had docked in on Sunday following drills with the RMN. The destroyer is on a homeward voyage after completing an anti-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden.
Abraham Lincoln is now in the South China Sea after linking up in the Singapore Strait with its escorts. USS Spruance (DDG-111) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), docked in Phuket, Thailand while USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) docked into Sembawang, Singapore with all three destroyers wrapping up their port visits on Wednesday according to a U.S. Navy release. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike is four and half months into its deployment.
On Tuesday, U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft conducted a Taiwan Strait transit, according to a 7th Fleet release. stated that transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace on that day. Tuesday’s transit was the third P-8A transit carried out this year with earlier transits on Apr.17 and Sept. 17.
The release did not state the direction the aircraft flew but Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) in a social media post stated that the P-8A flew from south to north along the Taiwan Strait, adding that “During this period, Republic of China Armed Forces maintained full control over the surrounding sea and airspace, with the situation remaining normal.”, read the post.
China’s military denounced the transit, with PLA Eastern Theatre Command spokesperson Snr. Col. Cao Jun calling the move provocative and stating that the U.S. publicly hyped up the transit. Cao also said that the PLA Eastern Theater Command had organized its naval and air forces to follow, monitor and deal with the trespassing U.S. aircraft effectively, “The U.S.’s remarks distorted the legal fact, confused the public and misled the international perception. We urge the U.S. side to stop distorting and hyping up, and safeguard regional peace and stability,”, said Cao.
Meanwhile a Russian Navy Pacific Fleet surface action group comprising of corvettes RFS Gromkiy (335), RFS Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov (339) and RFS Rezkiy (343) and fleet oiler Pechenga are heading to the South China Sea after completing a port visit to the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Sattahip Naval Base on Monday. The Russian ships conducted a drill with RTN frigate HTMS Bangpakong (FFG-456) according to an official RTN video posted on social media. The surface action group is operating in South East Asia on a training and engagement deployment. Already in the South China Sea is submarine RFS Ufa (B-588) together with rescue tug Alatau which departed RMN Kota Kinabalu Naval Base on Saturday, having docked on Nov. 23 for a port visit. Ufa is heading to the Russian Pacific Fleet’s submarine base at Kamchatka Naval Base, having been assigned to the fleet following operations in the Mediterranean.
In Japan, PLAN ships have been tracked transiting near Japan on Wednesday and Thursday. In a Wednesday release, Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO) stated that at 4 a.m. that day, PLAN destroyer CNS Xi’an (153) was sighted sailing southeast in an area 74 miles northeast of Miyako Island. The PLAN destroyer then sailed southeast in the waters between Miyako Island and Okinawa to enter the Philippine Sea. Fleet oiler JS Omi (AOE-426) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion MPA of Fleet Air Wing 5 based at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, shadowed the PLAN destroyer according to the release.
On Thursday, the JSO issued two releases, the first stating that frigate CNS Zaozhuang (542) was sighted at 3 a.m. that day sailing northeast in an area 45 miles southwest of Tsushima Island. The frigate then continued northeast to transit the Tsushima Strait and entered the Sea of Japan. The release stated that a JMSDF P-1 MPA of Fleet Air Wing 1 based as JMSDF Kanoya Air Base on the main island of Kyushu shadowed the PLAN frigate.
A second release on Thursday, said that at 1 p.m. that day, PLAN frigate CNS Yiyang (548) was sighted sailing southwest in an area 49 miles southwest of Kume Island and subsequently sailed southeast in the waters between Okinawa and Miyako Island to enter the Philippine Sea. A JMSDF P-3C Orion MPA of Fleet Air Wing 5 shadowed the PLAN frigate, according to the release.
