A Chinese spy ship is reportedly lurking near a major U.S.-led military drill off the Hawaiian coast after Beijing was disinvited. “The U.S. Pacific Fleet has been monitoring a Chinese navy surveillance ship operating in the vicinity of Hawaii outside U.S. territorial seas,” U.S. Navy Capt. Charles Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a statement Friday. “We expect this ship will remain outside of U.S. territorial seas and not operate in a manner that disrupts the ongoing Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise,” he said. The Pentagon announced its decision to exclude Beijing from the biennial drill in May, citing concerns over the Chinese government’s “continued militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea.” A U.S. military official cited by CNN said the spy ship has been in the waters off Hawaii since July 11 but has not entered U.S. territory.
