The U.S. has sent three naval ships on patrols near oil-and-gas operations off Malaysia’s coast in recent days, a show of support for the Southeast Asian nation whose offshore explorations in the South China Sea have faced pressure from China.
The littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords on Tuesday sailed close to a drillship named West Capella, contracted by Malaysia’s national oil company, after two other U.S. naval vessels patrolled there last week. The U.S. Navy called these presence operations.
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