Australian guided missile frigate sent to East China Sea

An Australian guided missile frigate has been sent to the East China Sea to help enforce sanctions against North Korea.

An Australian guided missile frigate.

An Australian guided missile frigate has been sent to the East China Sea to join to Australian surveillance aircraft in helping enforce sanctions against North Korea.

But Australian Defence Force’s chief of joint operations Air Marshall Mel Hupfeld said the mission which involved detecting illegal ship to ship transfers of goods was like “finding a needle in a haystack”.

He said so far Australian Defence assets had seen a “small number” of incidents which might be questionable but further analysis needed to occur to confirm the nature of the activities.

He said the warship would be supported by two Australia AP-3C Orion surveillance aircraft already based in Japan.

“Despite the easing of tensions on the Korea Peninsula, Pyongyang continues with its nuclear weapons and ballistic weapons programs in defiance of … United Nations Security Council resolutions,” Air Marshal Hupfeld said at a briefing in Canberra.

The Australians will work with Japanese, United States, Canadians and South Korea to enforce sanctions, Hupfeld said.

He said detecting illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods from among the many legitimate transactions in the East China Sea was difficult.

Not only was there “a huge amount of legal trade that occurs in that area through ship to ship transfers” but also it required getting the right vision of the activities,’ he said.

“It’s about characterising the space so we can understand what is legal and what is counter to the sanctions that have been put in place against North Korea,’’ he said.

Hupfield confirmed just the presence of the ship could be seen as a deterrent.

“An aeroplane flying over the top can’t stop anything from occurring,” he said.

But by calling on the radio and a ship presence there, then at least we can see and look closer to observe,’’ he said.

“There’s tight constraints on how close and what we can do. it’s about being there and seeing what’s happening.”

The Sydney-based warship was currently in South Korea taking part in a fleet review, he said.

Australia deployed two RAAF AP-3C Orion maritime aircraft to the region last month.

The propeller driven aircraft carry multiple surveillance aids including radar, infra red and visual electro optics, magnetic anomaly and acoustic detectors.

US President Donald Trump has encouraged U.S. allies to maintain sanctions on North Korea until it de-nuclearizes as part of what his administration has termed a campaign of “maximum pressure” against leader Kim Jong-un’s government.

With AP