A ship allegedly involved in arms transfers between North Korea and Russia is sheltered by China

China ensures the docking of a Russian cargo ship sanctioned by the US, involved in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, according to satellite images seen by Reuters. The evidence is likely to support the growing concerns of the US regarding the support that Beijing gives to Moscow in the war of aggression against Ukraine, notes news.ro.

The British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) claims that the Russian ship Angara, which since August 2023 has transported thousands of containers believed to contain North Korean munitions to Russian ports, has been docked at a shipyard since February Chinese naval from Zhejiang Province (East).

WHAT THE SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW

Satellite images obtained by RUSI in recent months from companies including San Francisco-based terrestrial imaging firm Planet Labs PBC showed the Angara ship docked at the Zhoushan Xinya shipyard in Zhejiang, which on the website its website says it is the largest private ship repair company in China.

The ship was identified by its unique automatic identification (AIS) transponder, which was turned on briefly, presumably for safety reasons, as it navigated a busy stretch of the Korea Strait en route to China.

RUSI said that before arriving in China on February 9, apparently for repairs or maintenance, the Angara ship docked in North Korean and Russian ports in January with its transponder turned off. It stopped broadcasting again shortly after arriving in China.

AT LEAST 11 TRIPS TO RUSSIA

The vessel, sanctioned by the US in May 2022, had made at least 11 deliveries between the North Korean port of Rajin and Russian ports since August 2023, according to RUSI, which tracked its movements as part of a project to use open-source data to monitor networks evasion of the sanctions imposed on North Korea.

China’s embassy in Washington said it did not know the details of Angara, but that China “always opposes unilateral sanctions and long-term jurisdiction that have no basis in international law or mandate from the Security Council.”

China’s Foreign Ministry also said it had no information on the matter.

Joseph Byrne, a researcher at RUSI, said the Chinese government should know that the US-sanctioned ship was docked at its shipyard. “If they let (Angara) leave the port uninspected and freshly repaired, then it shows that China probably won’t take any action against these Russian ships,” Byrne said.

CHALLENGES FOR THE USA

A US State Department spokesman said it was aware of “credible reports from open sources” that the Angara ship is currently docked in a Chinese port and said the matter had been raised with Chinese authorities. “We call on all member states to fulfill their obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2397,” the official said, referring to a United Nations resolution that restricts trade with North Korea and requires states to UN to deregister any ship involved in illegal activities.

The ship’s presence in the Chinese port underscores the challenges facing the United States and its allies in trying to strangle military and economic support for Russia. As Ukraine comes under renewed Russian assault and faces a munitions crisis, US officials have issued increasingly harsh warnings about what they say is Chinese aid to rebuild the Russian military after his first failures in the war in Ukraine. It is expected that the issue of this support will be at the top of the agenda of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in China this week.

A senior State Department diplomat, Kurt Campbell, said this month that Washington would not “stand idly by” if Beijing increased its support for Moscow.

“When Secretary Blinken meets with his counterparts in the PRC this week, he will address a number of concerns, including Russia’s war against Ukraine and ties between Russia and the DPRK,” a State Department spokesman confirmed, referring to to China and respectively North Korea by the initials of their official names.

WHAT CLIENTS DOES THE CHINESE SHIPYARD HAVE

The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard did not respond to requests for comment on the Angara.

The company’s website says its customers come from Asia, Europe and the US and that it has “strategic cooperation” with global shipping companies, including Taiwan’s Maersk and Evergreen Marine Corp, as well as partnerships with European technology companies.

The United States and dozens of other countries said earlier this year that North Korean arms transfers to Russia “flagrantly” violate several UN Security Council resolutions. Washington has repeatedly called on China not to aid Moscow’s war effort. Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 came just weeks after Russia and China declared a “borderless partnership”.

Last week, Blinken criticized Chinese support for Russia’s defense industry, saying Beijing is now the main contributor to Moscow’s war in Ukraine by supplying critical weaponry components.

Both Russia and North Korea have repeatedly rejected criticism of the alleged arms deliveries. Moscow states that it will develop ties with any country it wants, and its cooperation with Pyongyang does not contravene international agreements.

Campbell said at an event in Washington on Monday that China and North Korea’s growing partnership with Russia is “antithetical” to US security interests in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.