The United States aircraft carrier warship USS Nimitz was spotted on the Strait of Malacca recently amid rising tension in the Middle East involving Israel and Iran.
USS Nimitz was spotted by locals near Aceh, Indonesia, with a viral video on 17 June of the vessel passing through the Strait of Malacca circulating online in Indonesia, raising public concern in the country.
A United States aircraft carrier warship was spotted in the Strait of Malacca on 17 June
USS Nimitz
As reported by BERNAMA, the Indonesian military yesterday (21 June) confirmed that the vessel was passing through the Strait of Malacca.
The Indonesian Armed Forces Information Centre (Puspen TNI) added that the aircraft carrier was travelling from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Singapore Strait and the Strait of Malacca.
However, Puspen TNI head, Major General Kristomei Sianturi, assured that the vessel adhered to international maritime law. Specifically, the warship was exercising its right of transit passage under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
USS Nimitz
Kristomei Sianturi elaborated that the convention allows foreign warships to pass through international straits without prior notification, provided they do not pose a threat to the security of coastal states.
USS Nimitz was last detected with the Indonesian navy’s automatic identification system (AIS) active in waters north of Belawan, near Medan, North Sumatra, on 17 June.
According to USNI News, a US defence official confirmed that the USS Nimitz was transiting the Strait of Malacca on its way to the Middle East.
USS Nimitz
The Strait of Malacca, named after Malaysia’s historical Malacca kingdom, is the main shipping channel between the Indian and Pacific oceans, with the strait’s basin countries being Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
