China dismissed a warning issued by the US Department of State not to provide services to the tanker ‘Pacific Bravo’ carrying Iranian crude oil, noting that energy deals between the international community and the Middle East nation should be respected.
Earlier this week, the US warned Hong Kong to be on alert for the ship carrying Iranian petroleum that may seek to stop in the Asia financial hub, highlighting that any entity providing services to the vessel would be violating US sanctions.
The news comes nearly a month after Trump’s administration scrapped waivers it had granted to big buyers of Iranian crude oil, including China, in a bid to choke off Iran’s oil exports.
The fully laden ‘Pacific Bravo’ abruptly changed its AIS destination to Sri Lanka on Monday, but Reuters sources said the ship was most likely going to China, creating conflict reports regarding the ship’s actual destination.
Late on Tuesday evening, the tanker sailed away from Sri Lanka toward the busy waterways of the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping lane toward East Asia, although its AIS destination was still set as Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, a senior US official was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Washington wanted to make clear that anyone doing business with Iran, will not be doing business with the US.
The normal energy dealings between Iran and the international community, including China, that is within the framework of international laws, are reasonable, lawful, and should be respected and protected,
…a spokesman by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.
The US President has increased pressure on Iran, exiting the landmark 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) that gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its disputed nuclear programme.
