China-exclusive port ship linked to arms transfers between North Korea and Russia, satellite images show

By Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China provides docking for a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship involved in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, satellite images obtained by Reuters show, as U.S. concerns grow over to Beijing’s support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said that the Russian ship Angara, which has been transporting thousands of containers believed to contain North Korean munitions to Russian ports since August 2023, had been anchored at a shipyard since February Chinese in eastern Zhejiang province.

The ship’s presence in the Chinese port underscores the challenges facing the United States and its allies as they try to stifle military and economic support for Russia.

As Ukraine comes under renewed Russian attack and runs out of munitions, U.S. officials have issued increasingly stark warnings about what they see as China’s help rebuilding the Russian military after its initial setbacks in the war in Ukraine.

That support should be at the top of the agenda this week as secretary of state. Anthony Blinken visit Beijing.

The State Department’s second-ranking diplomat, Kurt Campbell, said this month that Washington would not “stand idly by” if Beijing increased its support for Moscow.

A US State Department spokesperson said it was aware of “credible, open-source reports” that the Angara was currently docked in a Chinese port and had raised the issue with authorities. Chinese.

“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 restricting trade with North Korea and demanding that UN States deregister any vessel involved in illicit activities.

“When Secretary Blinken meets with his PRC counterparts this week, he will address a range of concerns, including Russia’s war against Ukraine and Russia-DPRK relations,” the spokesperson said, making referring to China and North Korea by the initials of their official names.

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

The vessel was identified by its unique Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder which had been briefly turned on, likely for security reasons, while it was navigating a busy section of the Korea Strait en route to the China.

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

AT LEAST 11 TRIPS TO RUSSIA

The ship, sanctioned by the United States in May 2022, had made at least 11 deliveries between the North Korean port of Rajin and Russian ports as of August 2023, according to RUSI, which tracks its movements as part of a project for the use of open sources. data to monitor North Korea’s sanctions evasion networks.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said it was not aware of the details related to Angara, but that China “always opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction which have no basis in international law or a mandate from the Security Council.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said it had no information on the matter.

The United States and dozens of other countries said earlier this year that North Korean arms transfers to Russia “blatantly” violated several U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Joseph Byrne, a researcher at RUSI, said the Chinese government should know that the US-sanctioned ship was docked at its shipyard.

“If it lets (the Angara) leave port without inspection and newly repaired, it shows that China is unlikely to take any action against these Russian ships,” Byrne said.

Washington has repeatedly asked China not to help Moscow’s war effort since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which came just weeks after Russia and China declared a “limitless partnership”.

Blinken last week criticized China’s support for Russia’s defense industry, saying Beijing was currently the largest contributor to Moscow’s war in Ukraine, thanks to its supply of critical weapons components.

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 across Asia, Europe and the United States and that it has “strategic cooperation” with global shipping companies, including Maersk and Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine Corp, as well as partnerships with European technology companies.

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

Campbell told an event in Washington on Monday that China and North Korea’s growing partnership with Russia was “antithetical” to U.S. security interests in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnström; additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Guy Faulconbridge and Beijing newsroom; editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)