A US warship has been deployed in the South Pacific Ocean as Chinese naval ships continue to circumnavigate Australia.
USS Shiloh, a US Navy missile-armed cruiser, visited the capital of French Polynesia, Papeete, on February 27.
"Strengthening partnership with US Navy in the Pacific through the USS Shiloh stopover in Papeete," the Joint French Forces in French Polynesia said in a post on X.
The cruiser, which was previously stationed at Yokosuka naval base in Japan for 17 years, has been ported in Hawaii in Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam since September 2023.
A US warship has been deployed in the South Pacific Ocean as Chinese naval ships continue to circumnavigate Australia
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The US Third Fleet told Newsweek the visit was a “routine port call”, as part of the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative, in the Indo-Pacific region.
"[Oceania Maritime Security Initiative] is a US Secretary of Defence programme that leverages Department of Defence assets to increase U.S. Coast Guard maritime security and maritime domain awareness support in Oceania through operations in remote U.S. Exclusive Economic Zones and bilateral ship rider agreements with Pacific Island nations."
It comes as China continues to struggle against the US for influence in the South Pacific Ocean.
China, which reportedly has the largest navy in the world by hull count, is expanding its global military reach and presence. The Pentagon calculated that the Chinese military has over 370 vessels.
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China’s naval task group has been circumnavigating Australia, an American ally.
Australia is part of Quad, the informal US-led grouping which also includes Japan and India.
Washington has called this a “strategic alignment” among four Indo-Pacific nations, but Beijing views it as an “exclusive club” which undermines trust and cooperation in the region.
The flotilla reportedly consists of frigate CNS Hengyang, replenishment ship CNS Weishanhu, and destroyer CNS Zunyi.
Although the ships were more than 12 nautical miles - 13.8 miles - away from the Australian shore, outside Australia’s territorial waters, they were within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which covers a broader area, spanning 200 nautical miles - 230 miles.
The ships also passed Australia’s largest naval base, HMAS Stirling, located southwest of Perth. On February 25, a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived at the base.
The Chinese naval unit reached the Indian Ocean off the Australian west coast by Wednesday morning local time, according to the Australian military.
"They [Chinese naval ships] have been complying with international law … but we also have a right under international law, to surveil what they are doing, and that's what we have been doing, so that when this is all said and done, we're able to properly assess exactly what it was that this task group was trying to achieve," Richard Marles, Australian Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister said on Wednesday at Osborne Naval Shipyard, in South Australia.
