Chinese ship seen moving south near Malaysia amid rising South China Sea tensions

By Rozanna Latiff and James Pearson
KUALA LUMPUR/HANOI, April 16 (Reuters) - A Chinese
government survey ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese
vessels moved south near Malaysia, shipping data showed
Thursday, amid accusations that China is using the pandemic to
assert its presence in the South China Sea.
The Haiyang Dizhi 8 was spotted off Vietnam this week,
returning after being closely tracked last year in the
resource-rich waters, a potential global flashpoint as the
United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.
The ship appeared to have started a survey in waters 352
kilometres (218 miles) off the coasts of Brunei and Malaysia on
Thursday, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that
tracks shipping.
That appeared to be just north of Malaysia's exclusive
economic zone (EEZ), near waters claimed by both Vietnam and
Malaysia.
A Malaysian coastguard vessel, the KM Pekan, is shadowing
the Chinese ship, a Malaysian maritime source said, declining to
be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The Haiyang Dizhi 8 had been flanked by as many as seven
Chinese coastguard vessels that have since moved away, two
sources familiar with the matter said. The Malaysian navy was
monitoring the situation, one of the sources said.
The foreign ministries of Malaysia, Brunei and China did not
respond to requests for comment.
On Wednesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman had said
the ship was conducting normal activities and accused U.S.
officials of using the South China Sea issue to smear Beijing.
The presence of the Haiyang Dizhi 8 in the South China Sea
comes amid movement curbs imposed by Southeast Asian countries
to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The U.S. State Department had urged Beijing to focus on
combating the pandemic and "stop exploiting the distraction or
vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in
the South China Sea."
China's U-shaped "nine-dash line" on its maps marks a vast
expanse of the waters that it claims, including large expanses
in the south that are also claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam and
Brunei.
Earlier this year, the Washington think tank Asian Maritime
Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said China has maintained a
near-constant presence in Luconia Shoals, off the coast of
Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo.
Last year, at least one China Coast Guard vessel spent weeks
in waters close to an oil rig in a Vietnamese oil block,
operated by Russia's Rosneft ROSN.MM , while the Haiyang Dizhi
8 conducted suspected oil exploration surveys in Vietnam's EEZ.