Hours after the Maldivian government denied that the tanker involved in illegal trade with North Korea belonged to the nation, India’s WION (World is One News) has reported otherwise.
At around midnight of the 24th of February, Japan said that an aircraft belonging to its Maritime Self-Defence Force spotted the tanker, Xin Yuan 18, ‘laying alongside’ North Korean- flagged Chon Ma San. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “following comprehensive assessment, the Government of Japan strongly suspects that they conducted ship-to- ship transfers banned by UNSCR [United Nations Security Council Resolution]”. It also said that the Security Committee has been informed of the matter as well.
However, Maldives denied that Xin Yuan was registered there, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that Maldivian authorities “do not allow flag of convenience to foreign owned vessels to operate outside Maldivian waters, and therefore, the use of the Maldivian flag on Xin Yuan 18 is clearly in violation of the Maldivian laws and regulations”.
Not long after, the President’s Office released a statement, saying that it will ‘pursue aggressive action against those who tarnish the good standing and reputation of our nation and that of our people,” for using the Maldivian national flag “in such a manner”.
However, WION noted that according to “two leading shipping websites,” Xin Yuan 18 is registered in the Maldives, and that its last registered position was in the South China Sea on 8th February.
Last December, the United Nations approved a new resolution on North Korea, sanctioning it for its latest test launch of an intercontinental-range ballistic missile at the end of November. America has also imposed sanctions of a number of companies and vessels linked to North Korea’s shipping trade, urging the United Nations to do the same in order “to shut down smuggling aimed at obtaining oil and selling coal”.
