US Navy evacuating virus-struck aircraft carrier Roosevelt

Yahoo – AFP, Paul HANDLEY, April 1, 2020

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he does not see US military adversaries
taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to threaten the United States (AFP
Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

The US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam after its captain warned a coronavirus outbreak was threatening the lives of the crew.

With dozens of COVID-19 cases discovered, a senior official said the navy was rapidly arranging hotel rooms on the Pacific island for many of the 4,000-plus crew, while organizing a skeleton team of uninfected sailors to keep the ship operational.

Pentagon officials admitted the Roosevelt's plight was a challenge for military readiness, noting that defense forces worldwide are equally confronted by the pandemic.

"The plan at this time is to remove as many people off the Teddy Roosevelt as we can, understanding that we have to leave a certain amount of folks on-board to perform normal watch-standing duties that keep the ship running," Rear Admiral John Menoni, commander for the Marianas region, told reporters in Guam on Wednesday.

Earlier this week the captain told the Pentagon that the new coronavirus was spreading uncontrollably through his ship and called for immediate help to quarantine its crew.

"The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating," Captain Brett Crozier wrote in a letter to superiors.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," he pleaded.

"Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed US nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure," Crozier said. "This is a necessary risk."

Hotels in Guam

Menoni said a plan was being developed to get as many sailors off the ship as possible, and they were awaiting the arrival of 40 US Marines health specialists to help in testing.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he does not see US military adversaries 

taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to threaten the United States (AFP 

Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

He said only sailors deemed healthy would be housed outside the Guam naval base, a strategically important Pentagon port in the middle of the western Pacific Ocean.

"No one is allowed off the base unless they have tested negative for COVID-19," Menoni said.

Crozier did not give the number of infections aboard the ship, and the Navy is not offering figures for security reasons.

But one official said it was fewer than the 100 reported by US media.

More than 1,400 Defense Department employees, contractors and dependents have been infected by the novel coronavirus, including 771 military personnel, the Pentagon said.

Balancing health and security

The Roosevelt's docking in Guam on March 28 left both of the Pentagon's western Pacific aircraft carriers in port, with the USS Ronald Reagan berthed in Japan, also reportedly suffering an unknown number of coronavirus cases.

On Tuesday Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly admitted it was a challenge for US forces' defense readiness.

"This is a unique circumstance and we're working through it, and trying to maintain that proper balance, to ensure our friends and allies, and most importantly our foes and adversaries out there, understand that we are not standing down," he told CNN.

"We have the responsibility to protect the seas and to protect our friends and allies around the world. We have to adjust the best way we can to do that."

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he did not see anyone testing US military readiness amid the pandemic.

"Not at this time," he said on Tuesday.

"What we find, tend to find right now, it's that a lot of countries have turned inward and are focusing inward," he said.

Three missing Dutch warships in Java Sea were salvaged for scrap

DutchNews, February 13, 2017

The HNLMS Kortenaer in the 1930s 

Three Dutch naval wrecks that went missing from the bottom of the Java Sea appear to have been taken illegally by scrap dealers, NOS reports. 

An investigation by Dutch and Indonesian experts found evidence of a salvage operation at the sites where cruisers SNLMS De Ruyter, Java and Kortenaer were sunk by Japanese ships in 1942, with the loss of around 1,100 sailors. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte asked the Indonesian government to investigate after divers reported in December that the wrecks had vanished. 

Photographs of the seabed and interviews led researchers to the conclusion that the ships had been deliberately removed. Education and science minister Jet Bussemaker said a detailed study of the seabed would now be carried out. 

In total seven shipwrecks have disappeared from the Java Sea. Divers made the discovery during preparations for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Java Sea which involved Dutch, Indonesian, British, American and Australian warships. 

A total of 2,200 Allied servicemen died, including 900 Dutch and 250 Indonesian nationals. The battle led to the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. 

Related Article:

Indonesia says not to blame for missing WWII shipwrecks

Indonesia says not to blame for missing WWII shipwrecks

Yahoo – AFP, Dessy Sagita, November 17, 2016

The Dutch and Indonesian naval commanders laid a wreath during a 2014 ceremony
 to commemorate the 1150 sailors who died in the Battle of the Java Sea in
1942 (AFP Photo)

Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesia refused to take the blame Thursday for the disappearance of at least six British and Dutch World War II shipwrecks -- considered war graves -- that investigators believe could have been salvaged for scrap.

Former colonial ruler The Netherlands has launched a probe into how three Dutch navy ships seemingly vanished from the bed of the Java Sea, while Britain has urged Indonesia to investigate what has happened to three of its vessels.

It is believed the military wrecks -- lost in 1942 during the Battle of the Java Sea -- were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap metal, an effort that could have taken years.

More than 900 Dutch and 250 Indo-Dutch sailors died during the battle in which the Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Indonesian authorities have sought to distance themselves from the mystery, saying they could not be expected to protect the sites without assistance.

"The Dutch government cannot blame the Indonesian government because they never asked us to protect those ships," said Bambang Budi Utomo, head of the National Archeological Centre under the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"As there was no agreement or announcement, when the ships go missing, it is not our responsibility."

Amateur divers in 2002 discovered the long-lost wrecks of three Dutch ships, 60 years after they sank while in action against Japanese forces.

But an international expedition that sailed to the wreck site ahead of next year's 75th anniversary of the battle was shocked to discover the wrecks had vanished.

Britain expressed its distress at the disappearance of its own warships and asked Indonesia to "take appropriate action" to protect the sites from further disturbance.

But Utomo said Indonesia did not have the resources to maintain a constant patrol over its vast archipelago, a hotspot for other criminal enterprises like illegal fishing and people smuggling.

Row over naval war graves (AFP Photo)

'Looters are fearless'

Treasure hunters and scrap collectors are lured to Indonesia's relic-rich seas, experts say, where countless vessels have gone to a watery grave over centuries of trade, colonial conquest and war.

"Looting is really huge, not only on these World War II shipwrecks, but also on ancient shipwrecks," said Veronique Degroot, a Jakarta-based archaeologist.

The prize find for scavengers targeting the warships would be the huge bronze propellers used to power these juggernauts -- a far more lucrative find than iron or other scrap, according to Utomo.

"The looting must have been going on for years for such a huge ship to disappear," he said.

"Looters are fearless," he added, saying that divers risked death and injury sucking air through tubes to retrieve valuable scrap and antiquities, taking the wreck apart piece by piece.

While some larger, commercial operations use cranes and platforms to wrench heavy loads from the seabed, smaller ventures keep a low profile as they ship metal to scrapyards along Indonesia's thousands of kilometres of coastline.

Australia has been working closely with Indonesia to protect HMAS Perth -- which sunk off Java in World War II, claiming hundreds of lives -- after discovering in 2013 that the warship was being plundered for brass.

A spokesman for the Indonesian navy said the missing ships should not have been disturbed as they were war graves.

"However, the Indonesian navy cannot monitor all areas all the time," spokesman Gig Jonias Mozes Sipasulta told AFP.

"If they ask why the ships are missing, I'm going to ask them back, why didn't they guard the ships? They should have been more proactive."

Naval warships and war graves are protected under international law that makes the desecration of such shipwrecks illegal.

The HNLMS Kortenaer in the 1930s

Related Articles:

British start investigation into vanished Java Sea ships

British second world war shipwrecks in Java Sea destroyed by illegal scavenging

British start investigation into vanished Java Sea ships

DutchNews, November 17, 2016

The HNLMS Kortenaer in the 1930s 

The British authorities have started an investigation into the disappearance of seven shipwrecks – including three Dutch navy vessels – from the Java Sea. 

Earlier this week, Dutch defence minister Jeanine Hennis said the wrecks of cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and HMLMS Java and much of destroyer HMLMS Kortenaer has vanished from the sea bed. 

The Guardian newspaper then reported that three British ships and a US submarine have also been destroyed by illegal scrap metal scavengers. 

The British government has now contacted Indonesian authorities to express ‘serious concern’ and request they investigate and take ‘appropriate action to protect the sites from any further disturbance’, the paper said. 

The discovery of the illegal salvage was made by divers during preparations for next year’s 75 year anniversary commemorations, Hennis said in a statement to parliament. 

The battle, involving Dutch, British, American and Australian ships, took place on February 27, 1942 and proved disastrous for the allies. Some 2,200 people died, including 900 Dutch nationals and 250 people of Indonesian Dutch origin. 

Related Article:

British second world war shipwrecks in Java Sea destroyed by illegal scavenging

Jokowi Wants Military to Pursue More Humanitarian Operations

Jakarta Globe, Eko Prasetyo, April 12, 2016

President Joko Widodo on board Indonesian battleship Frans Kaisiepo-368 during
 the opening of Komodo Exercise 2016, a multi-country naval exercise in Padang,
West Sumatra, Tuesday (12/04). (State Palace Press Photo/Rusman)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo attended the opening of the five-day multi-country Komodo naval exercise, at the Indonesian Naval Base II in Padang, West Sumatra, on Tuesday (12/04).

In his speech, Joko stressed the importance of military operations other than war (MOOTW), including for humanitarian purposes.

“Improve health services. Build better public facilities. Help out in search and rescue missions. The real battle is to improve our humanity,” Joko said in his statement.

A total of 47 vessels from 16 countries will take part in the exercises until Saturday.

Dog lost at sea off California surfaces alive one month on

Yahoo – AFP, March 17, 2016

This US Navy photo obtained March 17, 2016 shows Luna, an 18-month-old
German shepherd mix, reunited with Conner Lamb, a friend of her owner, at
 Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, after going missing for
five weeks (AFP Photo/MCSN Cynthia Jackson)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The US Navy was surprised this week to find a dog alive and well on an island off California a month after falling off its owner's boat.

Luna, a German shepherd with piercing blue eyes, went overboard in early February while its owner was fishing about a mile off San Clemente island, which is about 80 miles (127 kilometers) from the mainland.

Its owner asked Naval Base Coronado for help in finding the dog, but it was given up for dead after a search lasting several days.

"Fast forward to yesterday," the navy said on the base's Facebook page. "Luna showed up near staff at San Clemente Island -- a little thinner but none the worse for wear."

Luna was turned over to a friend of the owner for safekeeping until he returns from a trip, it said.

Putin tells navy in Mediterranean to work with French 'as allies'

Yahoo – AFP, 17 Nov 2015

Russian warship the BSF Saratov 150 sails through the Bosphorus off Istanbul
en route to the eastern Mediterranean in September (AFP Photo/Ozan Kose)

Moscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered the Russian navy in the Mediterranean to establish contact with its French counterparts and work together "as allies" in a campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria

Putin instructed his military to work out a joint Russian-French action plan against IS militants as he pushes the idea of establishing a broad anti-IS coalition that would involve both Russia and the West.

"It's necessary to establish direct contact with the French and work with them as allies," Putin told the military top brass at a meeting after French President Francois Hollande said the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle would be deployed to the eastern Mediterranean.

"It's necessary to work out with them a plan of joint actions both at sea and in the air," Putin said, adding that both the chief of the general staff and the defence ministry had received orders to that effect.

The Kremlin said separately that Putin and Hollande had agreed in phone talks to ramp up cooperation and tackle "international terrorism" together.

"It has been agreed to ensure closer contact and coordination between the military and security service agencies of the two countries during operations against terrorist groups by Russia and France in Syria," the Kremlin said in a statement following the phone call between Putin and Hollande.

The two will further discuss the fight against terrorism in a meeting in Moscow on November 26, the Kremlin said.

Putin has been seeking to capitalise on shifting dynamics in the West following Friday's terror attacks in Paris and the bombing of a Russian passenger plane over Sinai in October, arguing that Russia and the West should unite against a common enemy.

Earlier Tuesday Russia announced that the Airbus A321 carrying 224 people, most of them Russian tourists, was knocked out of sky by a bomb and pledged vengeance.

On Tuesday, Russian strategic bombers hit Islamic State group targets in Syria's Raqa and Deir Ezzor provinces, defence minister Sergei Shoigu said.

He added that cruise missile strikes had also hit Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

The strikes are the first time that Russia has deployed its strategic long-range bombers during its air campaign in Syria and came as Shoigu said Moscow had doubled the number of combat sorties it flew over the country.

In total, Shoigu said that Russian forces hit 206 "terrorist" targets in Syria in the latest wave of strikes.

Apart from a spate of missiles fired from its Caspian Sea fleet in October, up until now Moscow has mainly relied on smaller fighter jets to hit targets in Syria but has now deployed the more powerful long-range bombers from Russian territory.

US to operate 'wherever' law allows in South China Sea

Yahoo – AFP, 3 Nov 2015

The USS Lassen destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed land

formation in the Spratly Islands (AFP Photo)

Beijing (AFP) - The US military will continue to operate wherever international law allows, a top US admiral said in Beijing on Tuesday, a week after America infuriated China by sailing close to artificial islands it is building in the South China Sea.

"International seas and airspace belong to everyone and are not the dominion of any single nation," Admiral Harry Harris said at the Stanford Center at Peking University.

"Our military will continue to fly, sail, and operate whenever and wherever international law allows. The South China Sea is not -- and will not -- be an exception," he added, according to a transcript.

Admiral Harry Harris heads the US Pacific

Command (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Harris is the head of the US Pacific Command and his public declaration in the Chinese capital is a mark of US resolve over the waterway, where Beijing has built up rocks and reefs into artificial islands with facilities for military use.

Last week the US gave a practical demonstration of its policy, sailing the USS Lassen guided missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the land formations China claims in the disputed Spratly Islands.

Chinese officials rebuked Harris over the action, with the People's Liberation Army chief of general staff Fang Fenghui telling him it had "created a disharmonious atmosphere for our meeting and this is very regretful".

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing that Washington's call for Beijing to stop militarising the South China Sea while sending warships there itself was "an attempt to deprive China of its self-defence right as a sovereign state".

"It is a typical manifestation of hypocrisy and hegemonism," she said.

'Frontline forces'

Washington says it takes no position on sovereignty disputes in the region and the sail-by was intended to protect freedom of navigation under international law, which it sees as potentially threatened by China's activities.

The USS Lassen's mission was part of the US's "routine freedom of navigation operations", Harris said in his speech, intended to "prevent the decomposition of international laws and norms".

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the whole of the South China Sea on the basis of a segmented line that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.

The "ambiguous maritime claims" represented by China's "so-called nine-dash line" pose a challenge to navigation, Harris said.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the sea.

Washington has repeatedly said it does not recognise Chinese claims to territorial zones around the artificial islands.

The contretemps comes as the world's two largest military powers work to keep their cool over the troubled waters.

Harris made some conciliatory remarks, praising US-China ties and pointing out that Chinese and American ships were visiting ports in each other's countries.

"Some pundits predict a coming clash between our nations. I do not ascribe to this pessimistic view," Harris said.

Two days after the USS Lassen's voyage, the chief of US naval operations spoke with his Chinese counterpart via video.

A satellite image of what is claimed to be an under-construction airstrip at the top 

end of Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea 

(AFP Photo/DigitalGlobe)

US officials said the call between Admiral John Richardson and Admiral Wu Shengli, who commands the Chinese navy, was "professional and productive".

But China's official Xinhua news agency paraphrased Wu as warning his counterpart of the risk of "a serious situation between frontline forces... or even a minor incident that could spark conflict".

Beijing's response to the USS Lassen sailing appears to have been carefully calibrated, with authorities expressing outrage, summoning US ambassador Max Baucus to protest, and saying they monitored and warned away the vessel -- but without physically intervening.

China's position on the islands is leading many countries in the region "to want to intensify their security cooperation with the United States", US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Sunday in South Korea.

The Pentagon chief was in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday for meetings with regional partners as part of America's ongoing strategic "rebalance" toward the Asia-Pacific.

A key theme of the trip is likely to be Beijing's island-building and its wide-ranging sovereignty claims.

US to operate 'wherever' law allows in South China Sea https://t.co/HFgBl3eqSv pic.twitter.com/e25O8f9SPV

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 3, 2015

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China hosts US military visit to aircraft carrier Liaoning

China hosts US military visit to aircraft carrier Liaoning

A US naval delegation has paid an official visit to Beijing's lone aircraft carrier, Chinese media sources say. The move comes as tension ratchets up between the two regional powers.

Deutsche Welle, 21 Oct 2015

China hosted the US Navy representatives earlier this week, the country's media reported on Wednesday, amid growing concern that territorial disputes in the South China Sea are leading Beijing and Washington toward conflict.

The 27-member delegation boarded the Liaoning, China's largest warship, on Monday to discuss with Chinese officials such topics as personnel training, medical support and strategies in aircraft carrier development, the Chinese navy's official blog reported.

The following day, US officials visited the navy's submarine academy.

Provocative moves

The visit comes amid heightened tension between Beijing and Washington after a series of aggressive steps taken by China to assert its authority in the South China Sea.

Earlier this month, China announced it had built two lighthouses on the contested Huayang Reef, which is also claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries. Beijing lays claim to most of the South China Sea, something that has been repeatedly denied by Washington and its allies in the region.

The US government has called on China to halt its construction in the region and recently said it might sail its Navy ships in the vicinity of China's man-made islands, a provocative move from Beijing's point of view.

Easing tensions

The official trip earlier this week has been interpreted as an attempt by both sides to ease tensions and increase military transparency.

An editorial in China's state-sanctioned Global Times newspaper, for example, said the visit increased mutual understanding and trust while also displaying China's military confidence.

The Liaoning, a refitted former Soviet aircraft carrier, has come to be seen by many as a symbol for China's increasing military might. Former US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel participated in Washington's first official visit to the carrier in 2014.

blc/mz (AP, AFP, Reuters)

UN Security Council approves EU anti-trafficking mission

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution allowing EU naval forces to intercept and seize vessels smuggling refugees on high seas. The migrants should be treated with "humanity and dignity," the document says.

Deutsche Welle, 9 Oct 2015

The resolution, which the council approved on Friday, can be militarily enforced under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

By approving the British-drafted document, Security Council provided international backing for the EU initiative to stem the flow of refugees from Libya to the European coast.

Earlier this week, EU-members sent several warships to international waters off the coast of Libya with orders to board and search smuggler's boats, arrest human trafficking suspects and transport any migrants to Europe.

The resolution provides UN authorization for one year and asks for the refugees found on the ships to be "treated with humanity and dignity."

Hope for Libya

British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft welcomed Friday's decision, saying that smugglers must not be allowed to "profit from others' despair."

"Action against smugglers on the high sea won't solve this crisis alone," he said. "But it will send a message that people cannot profit from this evil trade with impunity. It will save lives."

The original draft of the resolution would also allow the EU forces to sink smugglers vessels after seizing them. The final document, however, says that action on disposal must be taken "with due consideration of the interests of any third parties who have acted in good faith."

The EU also initially wanted a naval operation in Libyan territorial waters and along its coast, but Libya objected.

The north African country is only beginning to overcome a power struggle between two governments, making political action difficult and leaving a power vacuum used by the smugglers.

Venezuela express doubts

Despite initial doubts from Russia and several African countries on the Security Council, the resolution passed with 14 votes in favor.

Venezuela abstaining from the vote, with its UN ambassador, Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno, stating that the humanitarian crisis should not be solved by military action.

"The resolution that has been adopted authorizing use of force in our opinion is a disproportionate action, which sets a dangerous precedent for the treatment of this topic in the future," he said.

While the EU naval mission aims to curbing the influx of migrants coming across Libya, it does not apply to the so-called Balkan route, where refugees sail from Turkey to Greece.

dj/sms (dpa, Reuters, AP, AFP)

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Minister Susi and Navy Team Up to Protect Indonesia’s Coral Reefs

Jakarta Globe, Aug 09, 2015

Students from Singapore snorkeling at a coral reef in the waters off Lombok, West
 Nusa Teggara. Maintaining Indonesia's coral reefs has become a priority for the
tourism sector. (AFP Photo/Sonny Tumelaka)

Jakarta. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has again enlisted the help of the Navy — this time to protect Indonesia’s coral reefs, 70 percent of which are in damaged or heavily damaged condition.

Susi said only 30 percent of Indonesia’s 2.5 million hectares of coral reefs were currently in a good state, threatening the archipelago’s marine ecosystem and fisheries production.

“Coral reefs are production houses for fish; they must be guarded,” Susi said at an event in Jakarta last week as quoted by CNN Indonesia.

“There are no fish laying their eggs in the ocean. They must do so near coastal areas, on the sand, on coral reefs. When they have lost a place [to store their eggs], where would they do it?” she added.

The minister lamented the widespread coral damage, given that Indonesia is part of the Coral Triangle, which has been hailed as the global center for marine biodiversity. The area also covers Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

She blamed the rampant practice of blast fishing among Indonesian fishermen, as well as garbage dumping in to the sea, for the damage.

“Coral reef rescue actions will hopefully help Indonesia protect its marine richness potential through the protection, preservation and sustainable use of coral reefs,” Susi said.

As part of the rescue mission, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is set to expand Indonesia’s marine conservation areas from a total of 16.4 million hectares at present to 20 million hectares by 2020 — out of Indonesia’s 310 million hectares of water territory.

Susi said, though, that the ministry would not be able to guard the country’s remaining coral reefs alone, thus its enlisting of the Navy’s help.

Indonesian Navy spokesman Admiral Ade Supandi said the Navy was ready to support the ministry’s mission, having launched its own program called Save Our Littoral Life.

The program, he said, entails the protection of coastal ecosystem across the archipelago and is expected to support President Joko Widodo’s ambition to turn Indonesia into a “global maritime fulcrum.”

“We all know that these coral reefs, as well as mangrove forests, are living spaces and growth mediums for fish,” Ade said.

“And of course they are part of our geographical territory, which we must safeguard and whose quality we must improve,” he added.

As part of the program, and together with the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and civil society organizations, the Navy is targeting to grow coral in 54 locations inside 100 hectares of conservation areas this year.

Since the launch of the program in May, the Navy has planted coral in a number of coastal areas in Aceh, Lampung, Banten, Central Java and East Java provinces, Ade said.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Soesilo said the Navy had promised to monitor the planting locations to ensure the growth of coral reefs.

“[We've recorded] the coordinates of every location where the coral have been planted, so we can keep monitoring [the growth] and see the result in a year,” Indroyono said on Saturday, extending his praise for the Navy.

“This is proof of the Navy’s support for Indonesia’s maritime ambitions.”

He added the coral planting program was not only expected to restore marine ecosystem across targeted areas, but also to develop them into new marine tourism destinations.

“[This program] will benefit our marine ecosystem. And the tourism minister will benefit from this,” Indroyono said.

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya agreed, saying ecological tourism was profitable because tourists were willing to pay more for a stay at well-protected marine conservation locations.

“Conserved locations offer more profit than selling coral as ornaments,” he said. “The more closely guarded [tourism sites] are, the more expensive they are.”

Prior to the conservation program, on Joko’s direct instruction and after Susi’s calls for help, the Navy last year agreed to help the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry combat foreign-flagged vessels poaching in Indonesian waters — having since blown up and sunk dozens of such vessels and arrested fishermen, triggering reactions from countries where the foreign fishing crew came from, including China, the Philippines and Vietnam. 

Japan and China to sign off on maritime liaison mechanism

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-06-23

A standoff between Chinese and Japanese coast guard vessels in the waters

 near the Diaoyutai, July 2012. Japan would nationalize the islands a few months

later. (Photo/Xinhua)

China and Japan are likely to establish their first liaison mechanism next month to prevent a war over disputed East China Sea islands currently under the administration of Tokyo as the Senkaku (Diaoyu to China, Diaoyutai to Taiwan), reports our sister paper Want Daily.

Sources from China told Want Daily that representatives from the two nations have held five meetings to discuss the creation of a maritime liaison mechanism for members of the two nation's naval or coastal guard units to communicate with each other in English in the event of a contingency in the waters near the islands. It is very likely to be formalized in July, the sources said. Beijing has yet to decide whether it will establish a similar mechanism in the disputed South China Sea, they added.

The maritime liaison mechanism regulates Chinese and Japanese activities in the air defense identification zone, exclusive economic zone and open waters declared by both nations in the region of the East China Sea. It does not include the territorial waters and airspace of China or Japan.

According to the agreement, the People's Liberation Army Navy will notify Tokyo whenever Chinese aircraft or warships go near the waters of Okinawa in the future. The Ground Staff Office of the Japan Self-Defense Force and the General Staff Department of the PLA will also establish a hotline, according to the report.

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EU approves military mission to tackle migrant smugglers: sources

Yahoo – AFP, Alix Rijckaert, 19 June 2015

EU member states approved plans on Friday to launch as early as next week

 the first phase of a military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean,

sources said (AFP Photo/Jason Florio)

Brussels (AFP) - EU member states approved plans Friday to launch as early as next week the first phase of a military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean, sources said.

"Everything is now in place so that EU foreign ministers meeting Monday can approve the launch of the mission," one EU diplomat told AFP.

Other sources said member states have committed to supply enough ships and aircraft to allow the first, intelligence-gathering, phase of the operation to go ahead.

Stung into action by the loss of an estimated 800 migrants when their rickety boat sank off southern Italy, EU leaders agreed at an emergency summit in April to formulate a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem at source.

As well as boosting search and rescue efforts, they called on EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini to draw up military options against the ruthless traffickers exploiting the waves of humanity seeking to get to Europe across the Mediterranean.

The first phase of intelligence gathering is meant to be followed by active intervention to board and disable smuggler vessels and arrest the traffickers.

A third phase would extend these actions into Libyan territorial waters and possibly inside the country itself.

While some EU states such as Britain and France favour moving promptly to Phase 2 and 3, others have serious reservations about direct involvement in a chaotic Libya where rival factions are fighting for control and the internationally-recognised government has fled Tripoli to take up residence in Benghazi.

To meet these reservations, the EU April summit agreed that Phase 2 and 3 would only go ahead if the bloc obtained Libyan consent -- a difficult prospect -- and a UN Security Council resolution.

Russia, one of the five UNSC permanent members, and others "want a clear Libyan consent; we are still working on it," said a senior EU official who asked not to be named.

"We are rather optimistic that in the end there will be a UNSC resolution to go on with the other phases; there is no absolute certitude but there is a very good prospect," the official said.

Newly arrived migrants huddle together as they try to protect themselves from

 the rain while waiting to be registered in Mytilene, Greece, on June 19, 2015

(AFP Photo/Louisa Gouliamaki)

Opposition to sharing burden

Some 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta which all want their EU peers to share more of the burden.

The European Commission has proposed that 40,000 Syrian and Eritrean asylum-seekers who have arrived in Europe should be redistributed and that 20,000 Syrians living in camps outside Europe should be resettled across the 28-nation bloc.

Many member states are prepared to contribute to the humanitarian efforts of search and rescue but are less forthcoming when it comes to taking in more migrants or backing the military option.

Migration is a hugely sensitive issue and far-right and eurosceptic parties have capitalised on public concerns about a massive influx of refugees to make considerable inroads at the expense of established parties.

Earlier this week, EU ministers could not reach agreement on the Commission proposals.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday that member states remained "far from consensus" on how to distribute refugees between them.

"These are difficult discussions we're having at the moment and all my conversations with European colleagues show that we remain far from consensus and that a lot persuasion will still be necessary," he said.

"In our view, the best way is mandatory quotas for the European member states."

Germany last year took in 200,000 asylum seekers and expects as many as 450,000 this year.