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View all search resultsUS warship passes through Malacca Strait, TNI says
The warship passed through the strait, which borders Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, on Saturday, April 18, Indonesian Navy spokesperson First Admiral Tunggul told Reuters.
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A general view shows the flight deck on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) as the vessel sails towards the Straits of Malacca heading to Singapore on October 23, 2015. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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United States warship passed through the Strait of Malacca over the weekend, the Indonesian Navy said on Monday, adding that the transit through the major sea route was in accordance with international law.
The warship passed through the strait, which borders Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, on Saturday, April 18, Indonesian Navy spokesperson First Admiral Tunggul told Reuters.
Navy Commander Matthew Comer, a spokesperson at the US military's Indo-Pacific Command, identified the warship as the Japan-based USS Miguel Keith, which has been at sea "conducting routine operations in U.S. 7th Fleet."
Comer did not provide details about the destination of the warship, citing US Navy policy not to discuss future operations or movements for security reasons, but said it had undergone maintenance in South Korea in early April.
The US Navy describes the USS Miguel Keith as a 240-meter-long vessel designed to be a customisable floating command base that can launch helicopters and small boats, provide living quarters for troops, and command-and-control facilities.
The 900-km long Malacca Strait links Asia with the Middle East and Europe, carrying around 25 percent of the world's traded goods.
"Any vessel including warships transiting in the waters has rights of transit passage which can be exercised in a strait used for international navigation or international shipment," the Indonesian Navy spokesman said.
The Indonesian Navy said that all vessels exercising their rights of transit are obliged to respect Indonesia as a coastal state and must not violate International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, Tunggul said.
Starting Monday, thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war.
The war games will feature live-fire exercises in the north of the country facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as a province off the disputed South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated confrontations.
