Five Chinese research vessels, including those used for missile tracking and underwater mapping, have been active in the northwest Pacific over the past month, according to a Guam-based group, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
Against this backdrop, the United States has stepped up its military exercises in the region. The Pacific Islands Security Center warns that the rapid militarization of the North Pacific remains underreported and makes local populations a potential target in a conflict between great powers.
“If you look at the number of US bilateral and multilateral exercises, the activity is significant“, said Leland Bettis, the group's director. “Is it any wonder the Chinese are sending research vessels to map the underwater battlespace? Probably not.“
The center’s “Micronesia Security Monitor“ shows three Chinese research vessels, including the “Yuanwang 7“, near the island of Kiribati in the past month. Kiribati, which neighbors Hawaii and maintains close ties with Beijing, has an exclusive economic zone of 3.6 million square kilometers.
Last year, the organization expressed concern over a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile test that landed near Kiribati waters. Two other Chinese research vessels sailed east of the US territory of Guam, near island nations with defense agreements with the US - the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
Between August and November, the US conducted nine multilateral military exercises near Guam with allies. The Malabar exercise, which involved Australia, India, Japan and the US, included anti-submarine and air defence exercises and was identified by Australian forces as important for "deterring coercion in the Indo-Pacific region".
The US has military bases in Guam and the Marshall Islands and has overflight and maritime access rights to three freely associated countries - Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
"Thirty years ago, the US presence in these places would have been a deterrent, but today it makes us a target because of modern technology," added Bettis, who lives on Guam.