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Barque: ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLT II, Named for the Oceanographer
Photo by Hans Georg Schroder
SATURDAY JANUARY 26, 2013
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THE WEEK IN REVIEW:
The Pacific has been anything else but "pacific" of late. Events in and around the Philippines and Japan have dominated our private but decidedly naval orientated news feed even while the national media seems blissfully unaware of events near Japan and the Philippines
The week opened with a focus in the Pacific where the USS GUARDIAN a United States Navy mine counter measures ship ran aground on a coral reef within a marine sanctuary run by the Philippine government. At this writing the Navy is still struggling to keep the ship afloat and the U.S. National News Media has hardly noticed this important on going story. You'll find complete coverage from day one in this past week's notice board entries and blog postings.
The week opened with a focus in the Pacific where the USS GUARDIAN a United States Navy mine counter measures ship ran aground on a coral reef within a marine sanctuary run by the Philippine government. At this writing the Navy is still struggling to keep the ship afloat and the U.S. National News Media has hardly noticed this important on going story. You'll find complete coverage from day one in this past week's notice board entries and blog postings.
As the week wore on the plight of the USS GUARDIAN continued as she went harder aground and the crew had to be evacuated. A professional salvage vessel and civilian crew, the USNS SALVOR, and a civilian tug were called to the scene and should have arrived last night. The investigation into the grounding has started even before the salvage operation is finished. So far investigators have discovered that there is an 8 mile difference between where the pertinent reef is located and where the nautical charts show it to be. However the reef is a Philippine marine sanctuary and is patrolled. There is evidence that the USS GUARDIAN ignored warnings of imminent danger from a Philippine patrol.
While the USS GUARDIAN wallowed aground, the old dragon was swimming mightily. Not only was the dragon swimming but it seemed to be joined by a dragon pup yesterday when news came of another water cannon duel between the Japanese and Taiwanese Coast Guard inside Japan's territorial sea off of the disputed Diautu/Senkaku Islands. This time three mainland Chinese government ships stood off outside Japanese waters and did not enter when the Taiwanese Coast Guard asked them to "not complicate the situation". Coordination between China and Taiwan against Japan. We were forced to wonder out loud if the United States should continue to support Taiwan. We now have a client government acting aggressively against a formal ally. We have a legal obligation to defend Japan and the contested islands are specifically named in the treaty. We have been the self appointed guardians of Taiwan's right of self determination. No one twisted their arm to join the dragon in attempting to muscle territory from Japan. Perhaps it is time to ask if they have now made that self determination?
Namazu dropped in just to show us the latest NOAA chart on extreme weather conditions between 1910 and 2010 and take a little swipe at Al Gore. Today, Namazu's pal Vic is going to elaborate on that table as the Namazu School of Climatology continues its exploration of climate change and what to do about it. Join the dialogue read Vic's posting and send us a comment with what you think.
We closed our Thursday coverage of the developments in the China Seas with the news that China is building 36 more Coast Guard like vessels. It seems they are building a Coast Guard like system capable of policing the entire South China, East China, and Yellow Seas. Friday saw no change in the situation of the USS GUARDIAN still fast aground on Philippine coral.
EDITOR'S NOTE: We remind all of our readers that American Admiralty Books is a reference service and literature search service and not a news service as such. We have a NEWS SECTION that you can click on in the Special Pages Column to your right . There you will find hyper links to most of the English language maritime periodicals and daily news services. Below that E-"reading room" you'll find our headline service where we cull the headlines of world maritime news daily and post the ones we see as particularly worthy of the attention of the general public and we provide a link to the full story. The "Station Identification and Notice Board "where we are now is not a news service but a place where we post a variety of things we want to draw your attention to. When the world maritime news is especially busy and not well attended to by America's general electronic and print media we sort of go on a "news jag" and post a lot of news right here. But news goes on 24/7. Readers should never assume it has been a quiet news day because this space doesn't contain any. News fans should check the NEWS SECTION daily.
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IN THE BLOG POSTS WEEK OF 1/20-1/26/2006
Japan and Taiwan Coast Guards in second Water Cannon Fight Off of Disputed Islands, Some Evidence of at least informal coordination with nearby mainland China government vessels by the Taiwan Coast Guard. Is it time for the U.S. to reconsider its commitment to Taiwan?
British Minister Proposes Not Replacing Trident Submarines
USS GUARDIAN Has Professional Salvage Ship Steaming To Scene to Assist
Lots of Guardian and China Sea island coverage as it broke
China is building more law enforcement vessels
THE SECOND TAIWAN / JAPAN Coast Guard Water Cannon Battle with Mainland China observing from the sidelines.
A LOOK AT SOME ISSUES RELATED TO THE EXPANSION OF THE PANAMA CANAL
NAMAZU PRESENTS: The NOAA Index of Extreme Weather 1910 -2010
"SHIFTY" A Soldiers Memorial by Gen. Chuck Yeager
NAVAL INSTITUTE NOTICE "WEST 2013" Conference on the West Coast titled:
"Pivot to the Pacific: What are the Practical and Global Implications?"
AND TODAY NAMAZU PRESENTS: His buddy Vic's observations relative to NOAA's Extreme Weather Index 1910-2010.
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IN THE NEWS:
United Press International reports that the Navy estimates the USS GUARDIAN will have to stay on the Philippine Reef at least two more weeks before all salvage plans can be executed. We doubt there are two full weeks available in the weather window. Headline and link to the story below:
A U.S. Navy minesweeper will probably remain stuck on a Philippine reef for two more weeks because it is too damaged to move on its own, a Navy official says.
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HOW FAR WILL THE DRAGON SWIM? HE IS ALREADY WALKING ON THE FAR BEACH.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WAR OF WORDS OVER THE DISPUTED ISLANDS OF THE CHINA SEAS.
| The Diautu / Senkaku Islands, the northern most disputed area aggressively claimed by the notorious swimming dragon |
CHINA IS CASTING THE PHILIPPINES AS AN "INVADER"
(1) Yesterday we found an interesting video on the Internet that we have not been able to link our readers to. It was of Chinese origin, narrated in English with very high production values. It depicted all branches of the armed forces of the Philippines and believe us they looked professional and determined, and extremely well equipped. The theme of the video is that the Philippines is preparing to go to war with China, with the implication that the Philippines is the aggressor. Well we know the Philippine forces to be very professional and determined, and for the most part well equipped. The problem with the image projected in the video is the overall size. The Philippine armed forces are able to make it very costly for anyone to invade their homeland. Additionally the Philippines take their role as an alliance member and United Nations member seriously and maintain a small set of expeditionary forces that are able to provide a credible and appreciated Philippine presence in joint allied and UN operations. However the Philippines armed forces are far too small to present to China any kind of invasive force. They have never even been regarded as a threat to smaller navies. It is rather clear that the "invasion" anticipated by China is simply the continued occupation and defense of smaller islands within the Philippine Exclusive Economic zone or even territorial sea.
We don't deny that Philippine Forces are building up and reaching out for alliances, even with their former invader and occupier Japan. We have reported that in these pages. They do this because they fear that damn swimming dragon, who can't even seem to respect the Philippine beach. We wish we had only found one such screed floating around the Internet, but they seem to be multiplying. The Philippine EEZ and territorial sea is well surveyed and documented and is organized in accordance with the latest requirements of International Conference on the Law of the Sea. The few disputed areas are mostly rocks and shoals and could arguably be claimed by Vietnam. China makes claim on these disputed areas though having no territory nearly as close as Vietnam and the Philippines. As we demonstrated some time ago by linking you to the video of the event, the Chinese machine gunned to death Vietnamese sailors found in the area attempting to place their flag on a shoal. The Philippine Navy is not a force that could contend with China by itself, and certainly not capable of invading China, but it is capable of defeating the Vietnamese navy in days if not hours. But despite the disputes between the Philippines and Vietnam over certain areas, the Philippines have not responded with aggression.
Communist lie, they lie anytime it suits their purpose, and they believe that if you are going to lie, lie big. We are afraid that what we are seeing is China's preparation of the battle space by propaganda. When they move in on Philippine territory it will be after some period that is starting now where they lay a foundation for their ridiculous argument they they were invaded. After all what bigger lie can there be than a strong invasion force from hundreds of miles away is actually a defensive force repelling an invader. The world needs to wake up. The dragon can't be "invaded" when he is in the other guy's living room. The Chinese have grossly overestimated their naval readiness and are about to commit naval suicide. They have numbers but lack the doctrine, tactics, experience, and quality to best the Japanese much less any combined force.
CHINA IS CASTING THE U.S. AND JAPAN AS COLONIAL OCCUPIERS AND THREATENING MORE THAN NAVAL WAR.
Maybe the Chinese understand that they can't win the naval war. That might explain the other issue we first alerted you to yesterday, nuclear blackmail/ saber rattling.
(2) Colonel warns Australia to stay out of the coming conflict between China and Japan, expected to be backed by the United States. He appears to be warning of a probable escalation to a nuclear exchange, despite China's announced policy of "no first strike" in nuclear warfare.
Shun US 'tiger' and Japanese 'wolf', Chinese colonel warns
BEIJING: A Chinese military officer has raised the spectre of nuclear weapons and warned Australia not to side with the United States and Japan as a territorial dispute in the East China Sea continues to escalate.
America is the global tiger and Japan is Asia's wolf, and both are now madly biting China.
Colonel Liu Mingfu
Senior Colonel Liu Mingfu, of the National Defence University, blamed America’s ‘‘orchestration’’ and Japan’s ‘‘militarism’’ for rising tensions over disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/shun-us-tiger-and-japanese-wolf-chinese-colonel-warns-20130122-2d52d.html#ixzz2IlW0HgfD
BEIJING: A Chinese military officer has raised the spectre of nuclear weapons and warned Australia not to side with the United States and Japan as a territorial dispute in the East China Sea continues to escalate.
America is the global tiger and Japan is Asia's wolf, and both are now madly biting China.
Colonel Liu MingfuSenior Colonel Liu Mingfu, of the National Defence University, blamed America’s ‘‘orchestration’’ and Japan’s ‘‘militarism’’ for rising tensions over disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/shun-us-tiger-and-japanese-wolf-chinese-colonel-warns-20130122-2d52d.html#ixzz2IlTPP3ZU
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THE PHILIPPINE'S LAST PEACEFUL STAND FOR TRUTH. CHINA'S LAST CHANCE TO PULL BACK FROM THE BRINK THEY CREATED.
Philippines Brings Maritime Dispute With China to UN Tribunal
The Philippines plans to challenge China’s maritime claims before a United Nations-endorsed tribunal, a move that may raise tensions as the two nations vie for oil, gas and fish resources in contested waters. Editors note: This move by the Philippines demonstrates their willingness to abide by neutrally determined international law. Hardly the stance of an "invader". Their application to a neutral tribunal at this time places their position as non aggressor squarely in the court of world opinion. If China has a case for the territory it claims why has it not filed a case? Will they answer the court or continue to invade Philippine waters and claim that the Philippine Coast Guard is "attacking" them in their sovereign territory.
“The Philippines has exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime dispute with China,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters in Manila yesterday. “To this day, a solution is elusive. We hope the arbitral proceedings shall bring this dispute to a durable solution.”
The Philippines is challenging China’s “nine-dash” map of the sea, first published in 1947, that extends hundreds of miles south from China’s Hainan Island to the equatorial waters off the coast of Borneo. China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over more than 100 small islands, atolls and reefs that form the Paracel and Spratly Islands.
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THE USS GUARDIAN GROUNDING PROGRESS REPORT:
IN A WORD THERE IS NONE, BUT PAST EVENTS AND FUTURE PLANS ARE SUMMARIZED BELOW:
THE PROFESSIONAL SALVAGE VESSEL THE CIVILIAN MANNED USNS SALVOR IS ON THE SCENE BUT NOT ABLE TO PULL THE GUARDIAN OFF.
US Navy: All fuel of USS Guardian offloaded to a tug boat
| USNS SALVOR coming to the rescue |
Photos from Wikipedia Commons: USS GUARDIAN in better days
The United States Navy said Friday salvage operations on the USS Guardian at the Tubbataha Reef have finished removing around 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the stranded and disabled minesweeper to prevent any further damage to the protected park's corals and other marine life.
Completion of the defueling phase of the salvage operations came amid a statement by the reef's park manager saying that the grounding incident resulted in the worst damage to the World Heritage Site since the marine park was established 12 years ago.
According to a statement by the US 7th Fleet Public Affairs, the minesweeper's fuel were transferred to the Malaysian tug boat Vos Apollo during controlled defueling operations over the last two days.
For complete story from GMA NEWS- Philippines:
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/292043/news/nation/us-navy-all-fuel-of-uss-guardian-offloaded-to-a-tug-boat
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