Seized-ship spat with China
- China rejected President Trump's claim that a vessel intercepted near Iran was carrying a 'gift from China' to Tehran. - Beijing publicly said it complied with international obligations and rebuked the U.S. claim in formal statements. - The exchange shows America's confrontation with Iran is bleeding into its rivalry with China, turning intercepted cargoes into diplomatic flashpoints. ( )
China said on April 22 that a ship seized by U.S. forces near Iran was not carrying a “gift from China,” rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim. (channelnewsasia.com) Trump made the accusation a day earlier after U.S. forces intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska in the Gulf of Oman on April 19. He said the vessel carried “some things on it” that were “a gift from China, perhaps,” and said he had expected Xi Jinping to stop any Chinese weapons deliveries to Iran. (news18.com) China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the seized vessel was “a foreign container ship” and said Beijing opposed “any malicious association and speculation.” On April 22, he added that China had “always set a good example in fulfilling its due international obligation.” (channelnewsasia.com) The immediate dispute centers on cargo, but the larger fight is over whether China is helping Iran rearm during a U.S.-Iran war scare and a U.S. blockade around the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had said a week earlier that Xi assured him there would be no Chinese weapons deliveries to Iran. (channelnewsasia.com) The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that carries a large share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. China has called for the strait to reopen even as it condemned U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and criticized attacks on Gulf states. (channelnewsasia.com) U.S. Central Command said USS Spruance intercepted Touska as it headed for Bandar Abbas at 17 knots, issued repeated warnings, then fired several rounds to disable the ship’s propulsion after telling the crew to leave the engine room. Marines later boarded the vessel, which CENTCOM said remains in U.S. custody. (centcom.mil) CENTCOM’s public statement identified the ship, route and boarding, but it did not publicly list the cargo found on board. That gap has left Trump’s suggestion of Chinese missile-related material without public evidence from the U.S. military so far. (centcom.mil) Beijing’s embassy in Washington said China handles military exports “prudently and responsibly” and strictly controls dual-use goods, which are civilian items that can also have military uses. China has generally avoided openly supplying weapons into overseas wars where U.S. sanctions could trigger economic costs. (news18.com) For now, the ship seizure has turned an Iran interdiction into a U.S.-China argument, with Washington hinting at Chinese support for Tehran and Beijing demanding that its name be kept off a vessel it says was not Chinese. (aa.com.tr)
