1/29/2012  USS GUARDIAN

USS GUARDIAN REPORTED IN STABLE CONDITION STILL HARD AGROUND

Salvage vessels working near the site of the grounding of the USS GUARDIAN , Photo by AC3  Geoffery Trudell, USN

The USS GUARDIAN has had its fuel removed and most of the hazardous materials are off the ship. Salt water in about the same quantity as the removed fuel has been pumped into the fuel tanks to help stabilize the ship. The Navy reports that the ship is in no immediate danger of sinking. However little more can be done until the rest of the salvage fleet arrives. According to Navy spokesmen there are still two more ships that have to arrive from the United States. These are expected "in early February". We again wonder just how long this weather window will hold?

Opinion: This is a small mine counter measures ship. We believe that the cost of her salvage at his point if measured against her fair market value would amount to a "constructive total loss" in maritime insurance terms. However even with the fuel and hazardous materials removed this hull can not be abandoned due to the place where she went aground. She is fast aground in a Philippine marine sanctuary and even if in squeaky clean condition she can not be allowed to sink due to the mechanical damage she can inflict on the coral. We are short on mine sweeping capacity in the U.S.fleet. We could have probably built several such ships for what this event is going to cost us in the end. There is no one single cause of this accident. From the investigation so far we know there was an eight mile error in the charted position of the reef. However one event stands out. According to one source a Philippine natural resources service radio operator contacted the ship to tell them they were in a "prohibited zone". In the account of the radio exchange that we are aware of the U.S. ship curtly replied that if the contact had problems with their position they needed to contact the U.S. embassy in Manila. It wasn't long after this exchange that the USS GUARDIAN went aground.

 Now considering that the Philippines are an ally, competent seafarers, and not known to be overbearing and officious why was the GUARDIAN's reply so curt? A conversational response would have revealed that they were standing into real navigational danger as well as violating Philippine law. Apparently the GUARDIAN answered out of arrogance, and paid the price. The event will of course cost one or more young officers their career, but it also doesn't help American Philippine relations. The Philippine nation and people, our WW II veterans would remind you, deserve our deepest respect, they sacrificed much to aid the Allied cause. They have continued as allies ever since and many of their number have served in our navy. Many of these veterans became citizens and retired in the U.S. but have numerous family ties to the Philippines. In short, the people of the Philippines aren't just allies we share history and blood. How did this disrespectful attitude creep into our Pacific Fleet, or was it just one officer on one ship?  The Navy needs to find that out as the investigation of this incident continues. We caution against any rush to judgement, but this is an aspect of the investigation we view as important.  We don't claim to have the facts, but based on the "information" that is out there we'd certainly like to hear the facts from an authoritative source.

Below is a link to the latest commercial news account available at the time of this posting:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/391464/seawater-pumped-uss-guardian-prevent-sinking-pcg#.UQcBA79EFas

1/28/2013: 1530 CST   SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC APPEARS NORMAL

EGYPT'S SUEZ CANAL THROUGH TRAFFIC APPEARS TO BE MOVING NORMALLY DESPITE UNREST IN PORTS ALONG THE BANKS

Port Said Suspended Work on Saturday as the Death Toll Mounted in the Violence Plagued City. Some Factories and Work Places along the Banks have been Closed for One or More Days.

Port Said and the Mediterranean mouth of the Suez canal

 Violence erupted in Port Said over the weekend, as well as in the canal side cities of  Ismaiia, and Suez. However the Canal Authority reported a near normal 44 ships had entered the canal by mid day Saturday. However there are reports that the Canal Authority Branch Office in Port Said has to be protected by government troops.Port Said is located at the northern end of the canal, and troops are also reported protecting the southern end at Suez. Canal headquarters is located near the middle of the canal right of way in the city of Ismailia.

 Violence broke out in Egypt after a court announced guilty verdicts and death sentences over twenty people accused of involvement in last year's Port Said Soccer Riot in which 74 people were killed. There has been general unrest in Egypt for some time now due to dissatisfaction with the pace of government reform and the fear that a new dictatorship is emerging in the wake of the revolution. So far however, the canal operations appear relatively unaffected for through traffic, with only minor disruptions for traffic stopping in the canal's port facilities.   

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1/28/2013 Station Identification and Notice Board @)
New Flash Notice from Namazu addressing shipping executives of all flags serving the American market, new at 10:30 CST-scroll to the bottom of the Notice board to read.

WELCOME TO AMERICAN ADMIRALTY BOOKS!

Barque:  ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLT II, Named for the Oceanographer
Photo by Hans Georg Schroder

MONDAY JANUARY 28, 2013

NEW TO OUR SITE? WONDER WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT? CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR AN ENTERTAINING VIDEO EXPLANATION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFw32RRJY98:
If you want more detail after the video click on the INTRODUCTION page in the right hand margin.
This site uses Amazon book icon links that most advertising blocking software mistakes for advertising. If no book cover links appear with book reviews you are interested in try turning off your advertising blocking soft ware. This site is free of banners and pop ups. For best results view in Google chrome with anti ad ware off. 
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THE NATIONAL ANTHEM IS PERFORMED  BY"MADISON RISING":
Click on the link below the flag to get your day off to the right start!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8C7i9kdEf8

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UNLOCKING THE MARITIME WORLD: Our mission is literally to  unlock the maritime world by making all English language data readily locatable, available, evaluated when possible, and affordable.
We suggest checking our subject pages first by clicking on the subject section most like your particular interest to your right. These pages will bring you to free links, free videos, book reviews and book lists on the subjects. If that doesn't answer your question come back here and click on "The Mother of All Maritime Links": http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html#top

We may never complete our goal of reviewing and evaluating all books in print on maritime subjects. We urge you to read those we have reviewed but if you don't find what you need click into the Amazon general search engine via the link below. Every day we try to make it easier for you to discover what you need in our pages but until we have finished construction these two links assure you a "portal into the maritime world."

GENERAL MARITIME BOOK SEARCH :

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=admiralty%2C+marine%2C+maritime%2C+boating

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IN THE BLOG SPACE THIS MORNING:

INDIA'S TIGERS TAKE SUBMARINE HAND-OFF IN ICE CONDITIONS

NEW FEATURE IN THE AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE SECTION

THE WEEK AHEAD:

 NEWS 

 We no more have a crystal ball than anyone else, and with the China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines faced off over territorial disputes that could erupt into naval shooting at any moment; we of course  decline to speculate what news you may find here on the notice board this up coming week. However, with the USS GUARDIAN still hard aground in the Philippines and now with the oil off, additional specialized salvage vessels en route, and the weather so far holding; we expect some kind of news from the salvage scene during this week. We will of course post whatever we learn here on the Notice Board because we have been following this story closely and the American general media has not. But we again remind our readers that we are not a news service per se. We connect you to the world's maritime news services in our NEWS SECTION where we also post a headline service. We only bring to the NOTICE BOARD and blog space such stories as we discover that we think should be more widely reported to the general public than they are. If you need or want daily maritime news please check our NEWS SERVICE SECTION daily. Until we see the more substantial news coverage on American net work television and daily news papers we will continue to bring you selected stories of the China Seas island disputes. 

INTRODUCING A NEW FEATURE:

 This morning  we  introduce an important, time, and money saving feature in one of our special sections especially designed for admiralty and maritime lawyers.

For merchant seamen in need of a good admiralty lawyer there are quite a few who advertise via Google between our posts (we don't have banners and pop ups). We unfortunately may or may not know who is advertising between posts. We do know quite a few admiralty lawyers who work pro bono with the National Mariner's Association (NMA) and we will be providing some coverage of their ground breaking activities in various special interest sections and drawing your attention to these activities here on the Notice Board.

NAMAZU HAS SOMETHING TO SAY:

 We've gotten an earful from the giant catfish former demigod. As you may recall his contract as an analyst gives him full editorial control over his posts and we are committed to publishing whatever he sends ( I know we sound wimpy but have you ever tried to argue with a giant catfish former demigod the size of Japan who the ancients called "the earth shaker"?). Namazu seems to have some sort of bee in his bonnet about "the English speaking bipeds", some universal truths that he just seems to have to get out. We'll let him rip as soon as his first page of copy hits the fax from the hydrophones.

ADDITIONAL BOOK REVIEWS COMING TO EVERY SECTION

ADDITIONAL NEW LINK OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE:

 We work hard to bring you useful hyperlinks to the world of maritime data. We have carefully selected our links and spread them throughout the sections close to the related subject. But just as it takes us time to review books , reviewing links is a time consuming task. But we have found a source for possibly a majority of hyperlinks to the world of maritime data, marine special interest blogs, and web sites. We can't claim that it is truly complete, especially since the site is not yet linked to us, and we haven't reviewed or offered any opinion on the sites listed, unless we have already linked to them directly from our own site (we did find some redundancy).  However we can say that the links in this site are extensive, comprehensive and arranged in a logical order. So when you can't find the information that you need directly in our pages or via one of our recommended books, videos, or hyper links we suggest that you try a new search through :

THE MOTHER OF ALL MARITIME LINKS

 http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html#top

 We have begun to place this general purpose link in our daily station Identification / Notice Board just below the American flag and link to our daily National Anthem video. We are also placing it in prominent positions through out our special interest sections.

NEW PROMINENCE FOR THE AMAZON GENERAL SEARCH ENGINE:

 We review books on maritime subjects from all sources, we even publish our own E-books on line. But we are an Amazon portal, it is one of the financial supports for this service. Amazon tries to carry "all books in print", obviously that would be more books than we have been able to review in our first year of operation. Certainly there are publications out there that we haven't reviewed that are worthy of your attention. SO we will start to feature the Amazon general search engine on our daily Station ID and Notice Board and more prominently in all of our special interest sections. We want to be the first place that you come to for nay type of maritime information. To build a site like that takes time, and we aren't the first or last organization in the maritime information business. But we are not in competition with anyone. We are here to identify, organize, evaluate, guide, and direct you to all of the English language data that is out there on maritime subjects military, commercial, legal, scientific, and recreational. So with more prominence to these two sources of maritime links and books in print, and videos you can be sure that we are your "portal to the maritime world". We have no need to duplicate the services that already out there we are here to help you find the ones you need.

AMAZON GENERAL MARITIME BOOK SEARCH :
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=admiralty%2C+marine%2C+maritime%2C+boating

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AN ALERT FROM NAMAZU TO SHIP OWNER / OPERATORS:

Namazu, giant catfish former Japanese demigod, now maritime analysts for  AAB

Greetings Bipeds! 

 For those of you who read my postings on the future of America you will recall that I predicted that America would become a large exporter of natural gas soon. WORKBOAT , a trade journal offering free subscriptions recently E mailed me an interesting free offer of a White Paper produced by FC Business Intelligence , London on natural gas as a ship fuel alternative for shipping into the increasingly emissions restrictive U.S.environment in the near future. Here are some interesting quotes from the notice:  

"The US shipping industry is facing a period of upheaval. As tighter environmental restrictions come in to force over the next decade, ship owners, fuel refiners, bunkering providers and other stakeholders must adjust accordingly. Readily available liquefied natural gas seems to be the only viable answer to the Emissions control areas in the US."

"The report includes:

• Close inspection of the state of play and deadlines that are upcoming for the US shipping industry
• An in depth look at the viability of LNG as a marine fuel
• An examination of the costs of switching to gas and the payback times involved
• Discussion of the bunkering infrastructure development required to make gas available on a serious scale
• Case studies from Europe – giving you the lowdown on the early adopters"

 Here is my bottom line. As I described in my posts on the future of America, America is about to become not only a natural gas exporting nation but also an oil exporting nation. Obama can't stop this development because both the oil and the gas are coming out of the newly exploitable "tight sands formations" which are on private lands in America. But the drive of the OBAMA administration towards alternative fuels will not cease and ever tighter emissions requirements will be a major tool in moving that goal forward. While the present administration has done nothing to create this coming hydrocarbon surplus and indeed has tried to stop it, the present party in the White House will get the credit for the associated economic recovery. Obama will likley be able to name his successor so policies that drive the domestic price of oil and gas upwards despite abundance on the supply side are highly to continue for a decade at least. Cleaner ship fuels for ships serving the American market may indeed be a critical factor in longer term corporate planning. If that's your responsibility you may want a copy of this report. If you are a Work Boat subscriber you should have the notice in your E-mail, if not, we have a link to WORKBOAT's on line issue in our News Section, there may be an ad for this in there. The following link may bring you a free copy ( we don't know if being a WORKBOAT subscriber is required) :

http://www.lngmarineevent.com/content.php?M=8E208BA6-0452-442F-B3A6-5D784EB24314

 If all else fails the advertised contact person is Oliver Saunders  TeL; +44 (1) 207-375-7185 in the UK

Of 77 strategic materials that America must have to sustain her economy 66 must come to us by sea. yet America  lacks a comprehensive maritime policy and has virtually no commercial trans-ocean merchant ships. The administration is busily pushing new rules making it more difficult for ships of any flag to trade with America. For those of you bringing in those 66 strategic materials please keep working on ways to keep America economically alive. Perhaps this white paper will give you some ideas.

NAMAZU 

1/28/13 Russia hands over sub to India

RUSSIA HANDS OVER REFITTED SUBMARINE TO INDIA. SCORE ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE TIGERS THEY TAKE THE HAND OFF IN ICE CONDITIONS.

Late Model Soviet Diesel Electric Submarine Possibly Similar To Those Being Acquired From Russia By India

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that we are big fans of the Indian Navy who we refer to as the "Tigers". They are a growing, increasingly competent force for good in the Indian Ocean. We believe India to be a non aggressive state and a competent and law abiding member of the international community. They are also the world's largest democracy. So when we hear that the Tigers have demonstrated an important naval skill that indicates they are becoming not only masters of their home ocean but increasingly capable of global operations we have to cheer even when the naval vendor in this case is that old Bear and thug state Russia.

 The Bear refitted a submarine for the Tiger. The Tiger performed another naval task associated with global navies, they took the hand off in winter ice conditions in the far north. You would have to sail far down toward Antarctica to find ice conditions in the Indian Ocean. The tigers operate submarines and aircraft carriers with grace and aplomb, now they show they can operate in ice. The West, particularly the United States and Great Britain should be on a charm offensive to bring these sailors into greater alignment with us and less dependent on thug states like Russia for ship sourcing and technology transfers.  But instead, if you read our blog from the week end, our clueless leaders were in Taiwan talking about selling submarines to Taiwan at a time when Taiwan is cooperating with mainland China in illegal bully tactics against Japan. So we propose to sell submarines to a nation more likely to use them on one of our closest allies, while we hardly talk with the Tigers?

 Not only is India a democracy and a trust worthy and competent state, English is an official language there and is in widespread use in their fleet. Instead of ignoring them because they avoid formal alliance we should be trying to encourage them to move into NATO level interoperability. They are rapidly moving despite the neglect of the West, into a naval power capable of policing the Indian Ocean. They would be a reliable, fair, and competent policeman for that beat. But should they face invasion by a larger thug power, or an alliance of thug powers, its going to be in the best interest of the West to come to India's aid. That is a lot easier with interoperatability. It really is time that the West figured out that India's non alignment isn't a problem for us since they are far from a failed or rogue state. We should be encouraging their naval development and we should be doing so with one eye towards NATO interoperatability. 

 Below is a link to the recent Times of India article on the event.
We wish the submarine source in this event wasn't that old bear, but none the less congratulations are in order for the tigers.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Russia-hands-over-refitted-submarine-to-India/articleshow/18214030.cms

1/28/2013

ATTENTION LAWYERS, PARALEGALS, SHIP'S OFFICERS, WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT NEW FEATURE FOR YOU IN THE "AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE" SECTION.

The "Authoritative Literature Section"  is an adjunct to our "Admiralty Law Section"  in which we attempt to help the legal researcher,  or compliance surveyor, or compliance responsible ship's officer, with finding, interpretation, and application of  marine regulations, codes, standards, and authoritative literature.


  Our AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE SECTION has been open "under construction" since our opening day in January of 2012. It has rarely drawn more than 1 visitor a day compared to about a dozen visitors to the ADMIRALTY LAW SECTION. In the Admiralty Law Section we have a brief explanation of what admiralty law is and how it differs from "maritime law", and numerous law book reviews with the usual Amazon book icon link for purchase, or more information. We also have links in the Admiralty Law Section to a variety of sites useful in admiralty and maritime legal research as well as a link to WESTLAW so that the legal researcher may shift from our site to their on going WESTLAW project without constantly logging in and out of their WESTLAW account. By contrast the Authoritative Literature section has links to searchable versions of the Code of Federal Regulations, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as well as our own explanations of what makes a book authoritative on admiralty matters in the eyes of the court. Often times the admiralty lawyer must present as much technical or engineering data , liberally laced with "expert opinion " as he has to present legal argument. Once you get into the realm of expert opinion it often appears that things boil down to a shouting match between old salts called to the stand, or worse assorted Ph.Ds. It need not be that way. Enter the American Admiralty Bureau:




 For over twenty years the American Admiralty Bureau fought "junk science" in the American Admiralty Court system. The Bureau ignored the court definition of an expert as "someone with more knowledge than a layman" in a particular subject and applied the definition of an expert as someone considered as such by their peers in a profession or specialized occupation. The Bureau published and followed a strict code of ethics that covered evidence, testing, analysis, reports and testimony, requiring an expression of degrees of certainty and avoidance of advocacy. The Bureau followed strict rules of "specificity of experience" requiring experts to examine and testify only within the narrow field in which they were considered experts by their peers and utilizing other experts where the issues contested required more than one discipline to clarify the technical details of a case. The Bureau not only provided "Forensic Examiners" in a wide variety of maritime disciplines but also produced continuing legal education credit classes in several jurisdictions to help lawyers more effectively and ethically utilize "experts"., The Bureau  provided destructive and non destructive lab tests, conducted experiments, and performed investigations. In the course of providing these services the Bureau learned that certain causes of action were frequently litigated, and that certain constants applied or certain tests could almost always be relied upon. In order to combat junk science in the court room they began to publish a series of "COMMENTATORS" dealing with commonly litigated matters and predictive of Bureau positions. Publication of well tested positions in the pages of the Commentators which were designed to be highly citatable with each volume numbered and each individual "comment numbered". Any Bureau "Forensic Examiner" who wandered very far from the Bureau's tested and published positions was in imminent danger of impeachment. Bureau Examiners proved unimpeachable. Through use of the contents in the commentators attorneys whose cases were under attack by experts engaged in junk science could often impeach such witnesses through the contents of these Commentators. 

 The Bureau also published "Guides" such as the "Lawyers Guide to The Navigational Rules and the Guide to Seaman's Rights and Legal Remedies or  "Introduction to Ocean Cargo Claims". These highly informative and helpful Guides and Commentators were spiral bound and sold with an expanded fair usage right stated with the notice of copy right. The Bureau closed its doors to litigation cases some years ago, as the last of the controlling stockholders retired and one of the leading examiners died. In the interest of the continuing battle against junk science in the admiralty courts the copy rights on the Commentators were not enforced. At least one university press and several other publishers presently vend copies of the books and Amazon frequently lists used books for several hundred dollars. However the original publisher Marine Education Textbooks of Houma, Louisiana never went out of business and still offers the entire collection as spiral bound print on demand books. In the Authoritative Literature Section we link you to this source, but our involvement with this unique collection of authoritative literature doesn't stop there. We have contracted with the some of the original authors and editors and are revising and updating certain of the books and publishing them , the entire volume, in our authoritative literature section.

 Selecting, researching, revising , updating and publishing these works is time consuming and frankly not very profitable especially since once the books are on line we derive no direct revenues from them. This is why other more recreational orientated special pages received earlier attention and have comparatively more content. But like that organization we so much admire, the Naval Institute, we are determined to use the funding generated by more popular sections to help fund less profitable but important professional sections. This quality of service is the type of thing our mission statement envisions, this is the type of unique item that you can't find anywhere else on the Internet. Since we endeavor to find and link you to every source of English language maritime information on the Internet, and we develop things that can be found no where else, why start maritime research anywhere else? This is true whether you are researching a term paper, a white paper, a market study, or a legal brief. We are proud to announce that we have completed the posting of the contents of American Admiralty Bureau's COMMENTATOR Vol. I in the Authoritative Literature section today. 

 Volume I of the Commentator series once sold for $150 back when that was real money. It is now available to you free on line in our Authoritative Literature Section or in print for about half the original price from the original vendor Marine Education Textbooks. In Volume I you will be introduced to the heart of the utility of regulations, codes, and standards the Pennsylvania-Reyes Doctrine, and to the double edged sword of the Walker -Reinhart Doctrine. In Volume I you will also learn how and when the "general duty" to provide a "seaworthy vessel"  is often black letter in nature and includes and incorporates a statutory duty to maintain a "safe work place aboard a seaworthy vessel". The applicability of OSHA aboard "uninspected vessels" is thoroughly explained. The ins and outs of the Territorial Sea, the concepts of "Safe speed" and "proper look' out are all described. 

 Volume I covers the concept of allision, which is involuntary contact between a vessel and a fixed object which is distinguished from a collision, defined as involuntary contact between two vessels underway. When we tell you that these concepts are "explained" we mean explained in ways that only a lawyer could love. First you get a technical expert's insight, and then you get leading cases. Here is a sample passage:

The duty of the ship owner or operator to provide a "seaworthy vessel" has existed in the general maritime law (case law) of the English speaking nations for centuries. In the United States after 1970 , a number of cases apparently began to equate the duty to provide a seaworthy vessel with the duty to provide a "safe workplace". [See John R. Buckner v. State Boat Operators, Inc.et al., Civ. A, No. 86-898 USDC, E.D. Louisiana (680 F.Supp. 239) and  Herbert v. Otto Candies [402 F.Supp. 503 (E.D. LA 1975)].

 The appearance of this language in the case law in this time frame reflects language in Sec. 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651-678). This blending of the duty to provide a "seaworthy vessel" and a "safe work place" has broadened the meaning of a "seaworthy vessel" in the eyes of U.S. courts. Today a seaworthy vessel is more than  sound of hull and appurtenances, and rigging.  A "seaworthy vessel "is a "safe work place" with proper crew levels, safe access and egress, safe walking and working surfaces and many other considerations previously unthought of. Today , the duty to provide a "safe workplace" aboard commercial vessels is often a matter of quite specific black letter law or regulation.

 In order to determine if a vessel is subject to a black -letter specific duty to provide  a safe workplace , it should be determined whether or not the vessel is "inspected". Uninspected vessels are often subject to the "general duty clause as found in sec.5 of the OSHA Act.  ''Uninspected'' in this sense refers to commercial vessels such as commercial fishing vessels, motor launches carrying six passengers or less, dry cargo barges, dredges and others that do not require preconstruction plans approval from the Coast Guard. Such vessels do not require initial inspection and issuance of s ''Certificate of Inspection'' or the periodic formal and regularly scheduled re-inspections that are a condition of maintaining a ''Certificate of Inspection''. Uninspected vessels are defined in 46 USC 2101 (43). In fact, all U.S. commercial vessels are subject to informal boarding and inspection by the Coast Guard at any time. However , the statutory ''general duty'' to provide a ''safe workplace'' contained in OSHA sec. 5 exists only on ''uninspected vessels'' as defined in 46 USC 2101 (43).

 Volume I is posted, its free, its there for you today. It took two decades to produce the originals of the Commentators and Guides, and we are sure that we will be quite a while reviewing, revising, updating and publishing the many remaining volumes in this important body of work. Meanwhile the originals are all available as print on demand books from 

:MARINE EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS

124 North Van Ave.

Houma, LA 70363-5895

Telephone: (985) 879-3866

24-Hour FAX (985) 879-3911

Website: http://www.marineeducationtextbooks.com/index.html      

 Check our authoritative literature section often since the  current volume undergoing updating is visible as a work in progress. Each "Comment" is a stand alone feature so if the subject you're looking for is "up" you have the information for free. The proper citation for the revised edition will be shown. If you haven't done your best on marine regulations, codes, standards and authoritative literature; have you really exercised "due diligence?

1/27/2013 NEWS FLASH : SUBMARINES FOR TAIWAN?

NEWS FLASH!

US Group Visits Taiwan Base Amid Submarine Deal Speculation

This morning, Sunday January 27, 2012 we learned the following facts:
A delegation , led by Edward Royce , Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, arrived in Taiwan on Saturday as part of a larger visit to East Asia. While in Taiwan the delegation will meet with government officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, trade, and apparently a long simmering deal on the construction of some conventional submarines. The United States is still the leading arms supplier to Taiwan. Back in 2001, then President George W. Bush approved the sale of eight conventional submarines to Taiwan. Unfortunately the U.S. has not built non nuclear propelled submarines in over 40 years. European sources have so far refused to fill the order for fear of damaging their relations with China. Taiwan's military wants the subs and now appears willing to pay the U.S. yards learning curve. U.S. yards would love to have a modern conventional sub model for the export market. At the moment China has only two fully functional and aging submarines.

USS GROWLER  SSG-577, one of the last U.S. built diesel electric submarines

OPINION:

First Some Condensed History:

 Last week we reported in these spaces a second water cannon fight between Coast Guard vessels belonging  to Taiwan and Japan inside what is so far still recognized as Japanese territorial waters. In this latest incident Coast Guard like ships (the mainland divides its Coast guard functions among several agencies) of mainland China were detected near by and apparently honored a request from the Taiwanese Coast Guard to stay out of the situation so as to "not complicate it". China claims the disputed Senaku / Diautu Islands as part of the Chinese province of Taiwan. Taiwan does not officially recognize mainland sovereignty over their island. The United States virtually alone has defended Taiwan's right to peaceful self determination by defense in the UN and world media, Congressional statute making a commitment to defense,  and by arms sales and gifts.  Taiwan and the mainland did not send representatives to the Pacific Peace Treaty negotiations in the early 1950s due to the on going Communist Revolution. This revolution eventually caused the nationalist government of China to retreat to the virtual island fortress of Taiwan. For decades afterwards Taiwan claimed to be the legitimate government over the mainland and sat in China's seat on the UN Security Council. After the famous "Ping Pong Diplomacy" events of the Nixon administration the Communist government of China came out of isolation and began to be seen by the international community as the legitimate government of China and the mainland displaced Taiwan for the UN Security Council seat.  There after China began to refer to Taiwan as a "break away province" and threatened "reunification" by military force. Until recently the mainland simply didn't have the naval power to do the job. Now that they do, there seems to be a relative calm between the two governments, and growing cooperation. 

Some Legal Analysis:

 Now China presses a claim that the Peace Treaty parties were obligated to follow agreements in an earlier allied agreement and force Japan to return all territory taken by Japan during World War I and II. Japan clearly administered the disputed islands before WW II. The islands apparently have never been inhabited and their pre-WW I history is bit murky  Nearly three quarters of a century of effective administration by Japan and specific mention of the islands as part of Japanese territory in international instruments gives Japan a solid legal case. The failure to protest by either China or Taiwan until oil was suspected in the area also helps Japan's case. In the U.S. / Japan Defense Treaty the U.S. agreed to defend the "Japanese Homeland" and the islands are clearly described in that document as part of southern Japan.  

 China/Taiwan on the other hand have the modern day international legal opinion that territory acquired by conquest is not endowed with inalienable sovereignty vested in the conqueror working for them. If they can demonstrate in an international tribunal that the islands were in fact acquired by Japan during WW I by conquest they may indeed have a legal case. Even in international law there is something like a "doctrine of latches" where cases may be judged stale and dismissed, so their quarter of a century without protest works against them, and there is little history to indicate actual invasion and occupation of the islands by Japan. China/ Taiwan also have a problem of "standing" in trying to bring a case to court. Their standing is affected by the unsettled sovereignty issue between them. However that could be resolved with an agreement between them that stops well short of reunification. Since China claims the islands as part of the Province of Taiwan, Taiwan could contract with the mainland to serve as its agent in filing suite in an international tribunal and as negotiator win or lose in subsequent exclusive economic zone (EEZ)  negotiations with Japan. During our own civil war Great Britain and others recognized the "belligerency of the South", that was far short of recognizing sovereignty. But it held forth the potential of recognition in the future and gave the Southern Army and Navy the protection of "combatant" status  under the international law of the day.

No doubt this international recognition had a lot to do with Northern treatment of Confederate captive soldiers as POWS vice simply hanging them as traitors. This recognition also had a lot to do with why Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Army head Gen. Robert E. Lee were not summarily hanged at the end of the civil war. Taiwan and China are locked in a sort of cold civil war. They don't have to settle all issues to resolve a particular issue of mutual interest. Each in fact may use the quasi -independence of Taiwan to advantage acting as agents of each other.

  We think a lot of this may be going on even now and it is certainly visible in the territorial dispute with Japan. It is not hard to imagine the Taiwan issue being eventually resolved to the satisfaction of both sides with some sort of "common wealth"arrangement. Even if Taiwan/ China would lose an international court case over the actual rocks and uninhabited islands; under international law Japan is not automatically entitled to an EEZ of 200 miles or even a territorial sea of 12 miles in such confined waters. In such an area in as close proximity to several potential sovereigns as these islands are, seaward limits of territorial seas, customs enforcement zones, and EEZ have to be negotiated and ultimately resolved by international instrument. So even if China / Taiwan should lose sovereignty over the actual rocks they could continue the litigation to carve out quite an expansion of their currently uncontested EEZ to Japan's loss. Unfortunately it is clear by their actions that if China were to gain sovereignty over the actual rocks they would use them as a bench mark to push their EEZ without benefit of negotiation to the southern beach of Japan's main islands and demand concessions in the same manner as they are now demanding such from Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. China is in thug state mode, and it appears Taiwan is aiding and abetting such behavior. In this violable situation Taiwan now asks us for submarines.

OPINION: The only Ethical U.S. Position"

(1) Unless and until the China or Taiwan wins an international court case over the sovereignty of the actual islets and rocks all nations are bound by existing international law to respect Japans sovereignty over the dry land portion and between island waters of the region.

(2) The United States is obligated by treaty to defend Japan's sovereignty over the actual land areas and inter islet seas of the region unless or until the provisions of the treaty are declared illegal by a competent international tribunal.

(3) The United States is by treaty obligated to defend a reasonable territorial sea around these islands. At the time of the treaty territorial seas were accepted to be of three miles in distance from shorelines but that was often subject to negotiation in narrow seas. Japan has in recent years administered a territorial sea around these islands of about 12 miles which is in keeping with the general provisions of the updated International Convention on the Law of the Sea, but does not reflect negotiations that would be considered normal if China weren't acting in thug state mode. The United States is clearly obligated to at least defend the territorial sea limits at the time of the treaty.

4. It would be the height of foolishness to provide Taiwan with submarines now while it is cooperating with China in thug state behavior toward Japan where we have serious military defensive treaty obligations. At the moment it looks more likely that such submarines would be used against our ally Japan or even our own Navy in the ongoing  Senaku / Diautu dispute than in defense of Taiwan's supposedly threatened right of self determination.

 We might add that if China over steps or miscalculates in the dangerous game that they are playing and forces us to respond in any way to under go expenses in defense of Japan, we should suspend debt payments to China, no one expects a nation to fund the belligerence of another toward their own interests. When the U.S. says it doesn't have a horse in this race we mean only that we are neutral on the issue of sovereignty over any of the disputed islands of the China seas as settled by peaceful international negotiation or litigation. But we have defense treaty obligations in the area and long standing and reliable allies that we owe. We have no choice when claims and actions impinge on the modern limits of the territorial seas of our allies but to respond in defense of our allies. The dragon is playing way too close to the beach and is endangering the peace of the region and the world.  The world shouldn't be passing judgement on the exact bounds of territorial seas, customs enforcement zones and EEZs in the area just yet, but thug state behavior should be roundly condemned. We should be leading the chorus not selling a dragon pup submarines right now.

U.S.NAVY LOGO ITEMS

 

1/27/2013 Station Identification and Notice Board Week End edition, Sunday

WELCOME TO AMERICAN ADMIRALTY BOOKS!

Barque:  ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLT II, Named for the Oceanographer
Photo by Hans Georg Schroder

SUNDAY JANUARY 27, 2013

NEW TO OUR SITE? WONDER WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT? CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR AN ENTERTAINING VIDEO EXPLANATION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFw32RRJY98:
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Click on the link below the flag to get your day off to the right start!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8C7i9kdEf8

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UNLOCKING THE MARITIME WORLD: Our mission is literally to  unlock the maritime world by making all English language data readily locatable, available, evaluated when possible, and affordable.
We suggest checking our subject pages first by clicking on the subject section most like your particular interest to your right. These pages will bring you to free links, free videos, book reviews and book lists on the subjects. If that doesn't answer your question come back here and click on "The Mother of All Maritime Links": http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html#top

We may never complete our goal of reviewing and evaluating all books in print on maritime subjects. We urge you to read those we have reviewed but if you don't find what you need click into the Amazon general search engine via the link below. Every day we try to make it easier for you to discover what you need in our pages but until we have finished construction these two links assure you a "portal into the maritime world."

GENERAL MARITIME BOOK SEARCH :

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=admiralty%2C+marine%2C+maritime%2C+boating

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THE WEEK AHEAD:

 NEWS 

 We no more have a crystal ball than anyone else, and with the China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines faced off over territorial disputes that could erupt into naval shooting at any moment; we of course  decline to speculate what news you may find here on the notice board this up coming week. However, with the USS GUARDIAN still hard aground in the Philippines and now with the oil off, additional specialized salvage vessels en route, and the weather so far holding; we expect some kind of news from the salvage scene during this week. We will of course post whatever we learn here on the Notice Board because we have been following this story closely and the American general media has not. But we again remind our readers that we are not a news service per se. We connect you to the world's maritime news services in our NEWS SECTION where we also post a headline service. We only bring to the NOTICE BOARD and blog space such stories as we discover that we think should be more widely reported to the general public than they are. If you need or want daily maritime news please check our NEWS SERVICE SECTION daily. Until we see the more substantial news coverage on American net work television and daily news papers we will continue to bring you selected stories of the China Seas island disputes. 

INTRODUCING A NEW FEATURE:

 Sometime during the upcoming week we will introduce an important, time, and money saving feature in one of our special sections especially designed for admiralty and maritime lawyers.

For merchant seamen in need of a good admiralty lawyer there are quite a few who advertise via Google between our posts (we don't have banners and pop ups). We unfortunately may or may not know who is advertising between posts. We do know quite a few admiralty lawyers who work pro bono with the National Mariner's Association (NMA) and we will be providing some coverage of their ground breaking activities in various special interest sections and drawing your attention to these activities here on the Notice Board.

NAMAZU HAS SOMETHING TO SAY:

 We've gotten an earful from the giant catfish former demigod. As you may recall his contract as an analyst gives him full editorial control over his posts and we are committed to publishing whatever he sends ( I know we sound wimpy but have you ever tried to argue with a giant catfish former demigod the size of Japan who the ancients called "the earth shaker"?). Namazu seems to have some sort of bee in his bonnet about "the English speaking bipeds", some universal truths that he just seems to have to get out. We'll let him rip as soon as his first page of copy hits the fax from the hydrophones.

ADDITIONAL BOOK REVIEWS COMING TO EVERY SECTION

ADDITIONAL NEW LINK OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE:

 We work hard to bring you useful hyperlinks to the world of maritime data. We have carefully selected our links and spread them throughout the sections close to the related subject. But just as it takes us time to review books , reviewing links is a time consuming task. But we have found a source for possibly a majority of hyperlinks to the world of maritime data, marine special interest blogs, and web sites. We can't claim that it is truly complete, especially since the site is not yet linked to us, and we haven't reviewed or offered any opinion on the sites listed, unless we have already linked to them directly from our own site (we did find some redundancy).  However we can say that the links in this site are extensive, comprehensive and arranged in a logical order. So when you can't find the information that you need directly in our pages or via one of our recommended books, videos, or hyper links we suggest that you try a new search through :

THE MOTHER OF ALL MARITIME LINKS

 http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html#top

 We have begun to place this general purpose link in our daily station Identification / Notice Board just below the American flag and link to our daily National Anthem video. We are also placing it in prominent positions through out our special interest sections.

NEW PROMINENCE FOR THE AMAZON GENERAL SEARCH ENGINE:

 We review books on maritime subjects from all sources, we even publish our own E-books on line. But we are an Amazon portal, it is one of the financial supports for this service. Amazon tries to carry "all books in print", obviously that would be more books than we have been able to review in our first year of operation. Certainly there are publications out there that we haven't reviewed that are worthy of your attention. SO we will start to feature the Amazon general search engine on our daily Station ID and Notice Board and more prominently in all of our special interest sections. We want to be the first place that you come to for nay type of maritime information. To build a site like that takes time, and we aren't the first or last organization in the maritime information business. But we are not in competition with anyone. We are here to identify, organize, evaluate, guide, and direct you to all of the English language data that is out there on maritime subjects military, commercial, legal, scientific, and recreational. So with more prominence to these two sources of maritime links and books in print, and videos you can be sure that we are your "portal to the maritime world". We have no need to duplicate the services that already out there we are here to help you find the ones you need.

AMAZON GENERAL MARITIME BOOK SEARCH :
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THE PAST 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.

 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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EDITOR'S NOTE: Remember links to all of the major on line maritime news services and our own headline service are in our NEWS SECTION. We do not attempt to post all of the important maritime news of the day on the NOTICE BOARD, just those items that we are following that few others appear to be following. For all the maritime news don't forget our NEWS SECTION. Look at the special interest sections to the right and click on "NEWS SECTION". In the NEWS SECTION today you can read about Russian munitions headed by ship to Syria and other maritime comings and goings, posturing and saber rattling. 

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.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/01/24/Minesweeper-to-stay-on-reef-two-more-weeks/UPI-29671359037228/#ixzz2IxSWiYWF" 

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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

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.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/philippines-brings-maritime-dispute-with-china-to-un-tribunal.html

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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

January 25, 2013 10:24pm

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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