South China Sea Macron provokes China with nuclear submarine as tensions run high
A FRENCH nuclear attack submarine has patrolled the South China Sea in recent days at a time of skyhigh tensions in the disputed waters.
The SNA Emeraude was accompanied by the support ship BSAM Seine in a move that is likely to anger Beijing and strain Sino-French relations. The deployment of the nuclear submarine was confirmed by the French Defence Minister Florence Parly on Monday. In a tweet, she wrote: "This extraordinary patrol has just completed a passage in the South China Sea.
"A striking proof of the capacity of our French Navy to deploy far away and for a long time together with our Australian, American and Japanese strategic partners."
The post was accompanied by a photograph of the two vessels at sea.
The South China Sea is a major shipping route for global commerce and is rich in fish and potential energy resources.
Experts believe that the seabed may contain up to 11 billion barrels worth of oil along with 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Resource hungry China has aggressively sought to assert its claim over these hydrocarbon deposits.
