Georgetown Security Law Brief

Okinawa piques Chinese papers

05/09/13:  The New York Times reports Chinese state-run newspapers began carrying commentaries on Wednesday and Thursday questioning Japan’s sovereignty over the island of Okinawa, the latest sign of growing nationalism and territorial ambitions among a significant sector of China’s elite. People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, published an opinion column on Wednesday by two academics who noted that the Ryukyu Islands, of which Okinawa is the most important, for many years had been an independent kingdom that paid tribute to China. Japan took control of the islands in a series of moves through the 1870s, formally annexing them in 1879 and abolishing the local monarchy. Global Times, a sometimes stridently nationalistic newspaper, published a news article on Thursday asserting that questions about Okinawa’s sovereignty could help China in its long-running territorial dispute with Japan over seven uninhabited islands northeast of Taiwan, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China and Taiwan. The Chinese government has not endorsed the idea that Okinawa, the site of extensive American military bases, should be independent of Japan. At a regularly scheduled news conference on Wednesday, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman answered three questions about Okinawa with almost identical language, but did not take a clear position on sovereignty. The Japanese government quickly dismissed the People’s Daily column. “It is beyond doubt that it belongs to Japan, and that is the fact historically and internationally, so such an argument is absolutely undignified,” Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, said in a regularly scheduled news conference on Wednesday.

US-led Gulf naval exercises underway

05/07/13:  The Miami Herald reports the US Navy says envoys from 41 nations have gathered in Bahrain to begin anti-mine drills in the Persian Gulf amid efforts by Iran to expand its naval presence there. The US-led exercises, which run through May 30, mark the second major show of maritime cooperation in the Gulf in less than a year. Although the Navy says the drills are not specifically tailored to counter Iranian threats, Iran has previously warned it could block critical Gulf oil routes in retaliation for Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran also has sought to expand its naval capabilities, including plans to launch new submarines. A Navy statement Monday says the drills will begin with onshore training and then move to the Gulf for maneuvers including mine-sweeping and search-and-seizure operations.

Commentary: Xi's War Drums

05/02/13:  Foreign Policy published an article by John Garnaut: China's new leader is using the military to consolidate his power. But has he unleashed forces beyond his control? Xi has taken charge at a moment when China has been building up its military power as never before, surprising the United States and shocking its neighbors with the speedy development of new hardware and the aggressive manner in which it has deployed those tools to support its expanding ambitions. Top US intelligence analysts and generals have admitted to being caught out by the 2011 flight-testing of China's new J-20 stealth fighter. They were dumbfounded by China's subsequent deployment of the East Wind 21D, the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile, dubbed "the carrier killer" in the West. And now China is on track to nearly triple its fleet of maritime strike aircraft by 2020. China is simultaneously developing and producing seven types of submarine and surface warships. That's after a decade in which it quadrupled its number of modern submarines, including nuclear submarines designed to carry nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. It has massively expanded production of corvettes, frigates, amphibious ships, and destroyers. In September, China launched its first aircraft carrier.  But the specter of war is not the only possible explanation for Xi's saber rattling and demands for combat readiness. For even as Japanese leaders and US officials were publicizing their concerns this winter about a region on the brink of naval conflict, it became clearer that Xi and his close military confidants are squarely focused on domestic politics. Xi, then, has ultimately chosen to defend the Communist Party against internal political threats rather than prepare it to face external military threats. There is little doubt the Communist Party has been sharpening its identity in a post-communist world by defining itself against the West, fanning nationalist fervor, and promising a restoration of China's ancient grandeur. Xi thus has little choice but to keep pumping enormous resources into a war machine if he is to justify his party's continuing monopoly on power.

Japan's Coast Guard sold hi-tech ship without wiping data

04/30/13:  The Washington Times reports Japan's Coast Guard sold a decommissioned patrol vessel to a salvage yard run by a senior member of a pro- North Korea non-profit, without checking that the ship’s computer systems had been wiped, Tokyo’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Monday. The 106-ton vessel Takachiho was decommissioned in 2011, and sold for scrap. But the newspaper reports that the Coast Guard's regional headquarters never confirmed whether the vessel’s navigation data was deleted before it was scrapped. Although weapons and other equipment were removed before the vessel was handed over to the scrap yard owners, the navigation data recording system was left installed on the bridge. The system records a vessel’s location at regular intervals and, “information regarding operational [deployment] patterns of the [Takachiho] could have been obtained by some party,” an official from the Coast Guard’s 10th regional headquarters in Hyuga told the paper. In February, the national leadership of the Coast Guard circulated guidance to all regional headquarters saying that thorough checks must be conducted whenever vessels are sold to make sure navigation data have been wiped clean.

US tries new aerial tools in Caribbean drug fight

04/27/13:  The Miami Herald reports drug smugglers who race across the Caribbean in speedboats will typically jettison their cargo when spotted by surveillance aircraft, hoping any chance of prosecuting them will vanish with the drugs sinking to the bottom of the sea. That may be a less winning tactic in the future. The US Navy on Friday began testing two new aerial tools, borrowed from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, that officials say will make it easier to detect, track and videotape drug smugglers in action. One of the devices on display aboard the High Speed Vessel Swift is a large, white balloon-like craft known as an aerostat, which is tethered up to 2,000 feet (600 meters) above the ship's stern. The other tool on board for tests in the Florida Straits is a type of drone that can be launched by hand from the deck. Together, they expand the ability of Navy and Coast Guard personnel to see what's beyond their horizon, according to officials from both military branches and the contractors hoping to sell the devices to the US government. The devices should allow authorities to detect and monitor suspected drug shipments from afar for longer sustained periods, giving them a better chance of stopping the smugglers. They also should allow them to make continuous videotapes that can be used in prosecutions.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/27/3367756/us-tries-new-aerial-tools-in-caribbean.html#storylink=cpy

Tensions flare between China and Japan over islands and shrine

04/23/13: The New York Times reports tensions between Japan and its Asian neighbors rose on Tuesday when a large group of Japanese lawmakers paid a symbolically charged visit to a Tokyo war shrine, while Chinese paramilitary ships and a flotilla of boats carrying Japanese nationalists appeared to converge on disputed islands. The group of 168 mostly low-ranking conservative lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo in what local news media described as the largest mass visit by Parliament members in recent memory. The shrine of the indigenous Shinto religion honors Japan’s war dead, including several who were executed as war criminals after World War II. This has made Yasukuni, and the political leaders who visit it, a target of criticism by China and South Korea, which suffered under Japan’s early 20th-century empire building. Last year, a group of 81 lawmakers visited the shrine during the same season, when Yasukuni celebrates a three-day spring festival. This year’s mass visit comes at a time when Japan’s relations with both those neighboring countries have frayed because of disputes over territory and history. The shrine is viewed by many in China and South Korea as a symbol of how Japan remains unrepentant for its brutal wartime expansion across Asia. For many Japanese nationalists, visits to the shrine appear have become a way of standing up to what they see as the increasingly insistent demands of China, which has usurped their country as the dominant power in Asia.

China to send first aircraft carrier on high seas voyage: Xinhua

04/19/13:  Reuters reports China will send its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, on a voyage on the high seas for the first time within a year, the state-run news agency Xinhua said on Friday. The Liaoning, purchased used from Ukraine and refurbished in China, has conducted more than 100 exercises and experiments since it was commissioned last year, Xinhua said. Although considered decades behind US technology, the Liaoning represents the Chinese navy's blue-water ambitions and has been the focus of a campaign to stir patriotism. It has also been the most visible of China's efforts for more than a year to build up military hardware, including test flying two prototype versions of stealth fighter jets -- one of which is believed capable on landing on aircraft carriers. Last year, China also unveiled its first attack helicopter and a range of drone aircraft it hopes to export. In November a US government commission said it believed that within two years, Chinese submarines would be capable of deploying nuclear weapons. China is alone among the original nuclear weapons states to be expanding its nuclear forces, according to the report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

US opposes "coercive" China action in island dispute with Japan

04/14/13: The Miami Herald reports the United States said Sunday that it is committed to defending Japan and opposes any coercive action by China to seize territory under Japanese control in the East China Sea.  Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington isn’t taking a position in the dispute over the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.  Japan and China have sparred over the uninhabited islands in recent years.  Kerry’s strong words of support for America’s ally come just a day after he promised new levels of US-Chinese cooperation on a host of problems, most notably North Korea’s nuclear program.

US Navy ship removed from Philippine reef

03/30/13:  AFP reports salvage teams on Saturday removed the last piece of a US Navy ship that was stuck on a UNESCO World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for more than 10 weeks, the coast guard said. The stern of the USS Guardian was lifted off the Tubbataha Reef after the 68-metre (223-foot) vessel was sliced into portions for easier removal, Philippine coast guard spokeswoman Lieutenant Greanata Jude said. Bad weather had earlier delayed the recovery operations but once the skies cleared, a salvage ship used a huge crane to lift the bow, the deck, the funnel and other pieces of the ship off the reef. "The salvage ship will still remain in the area. After the lifting, they will clear the area of debris. It will take three days maximum," Jude told AFP. The minesweeper ran aground on Tubbataha in a remote part of the Sulu Sea on January 17, damaging a section of the reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its rich marine life. The incident sparked widespread condemnation across the Philippines, a former US colony. The US government has apologised for the accident, which it initially blamed on faulty maps. The Philippines said it would impose fines. Due to fears that towing it to deeper waters would inflict more damage on the reef, the US government agreed to scrap and dismantle the Guardian, which was worth about $277 million.

Bristow Group to take over UK search and rescue from RAF

03/26/13: The BBC reports a private company will take over the UK's helicopter search and rescue operations, the Department for Transport has announced. The Bristow Group has won a 10-year contract to run the service from 2015. The £1.6bn deal ends 70 years of search and rescue from the RAF and Royal Navy. Bristow will replace ageing RAF and Royal Navy Sea King helicopters with modern Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland 189s. Under the new contract, 22 helicopters will operate from 10 locations around the UK. All bases will be operational 24 hours a day, and half of the new fleet will be built in Yeovil, Somerset. The new deal will also see Bristow take over some of the civilian SAR bases currently run by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Bristow Helicopters is an Aberdeen-based company, although the corporate headquarters of the Bristow Group is in Texas. There will continue to be an RAF base at Valley, Anglesey, but the SAR unit will be in Caernarfon. The new service run by Bristow will be fully rolled out by summer 2017.

 

Israel says Gaza blockade will continue despite Turkey reconciliation

03/24/13: Reuters reports Israeli officials said Sunday that Tel Aviv did not commit to ending its Gaza blockade as part of reconciliation with Turkey and could clamp down even harder on the Palestinian enclave if security is threatened.  After a US-brokered fence-mending announcement on Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israel had met his demands to apologize for killing nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound activist ship in 2010.  But although Erdogan has also insisted on fully ending the blockade, Israeli officials said Hamas, the Islamist faction that governs Gaza, was still trying to bring in arms, and thus “the blockade is as necessary as always.”  Although Israel has relaxed curbs on overland civilian imports to impoverished Gaza, it signaled that the naval cordon, imposed during a 2008-2009 offensive, would remain.

Israel apologizes to Turkey over 2010 flotilla raid

03/22/13:  NPR reports in a phone call today with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkey over the 2010 Israeli raid of a flotilla that left nine people dead. The flotilla was attempting to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, when it was intercepted by Israel. "PM Netanyahu made it clear that the tragic Consequences of the Mavi Marmara flotilla were not intended & that Israel is sorry for loss of life," Ofir Gendelman, the prime minister's spokesman said on Twitter. "PM Netanyahu apologized to the Turkish ppl for any mistake that could have led to loss of life, agreed to complete the compensation agreement." This is a tremendous diplomatic breakthrough. As we've reported, back in September of 2011, Erdogran said the raid in international waters was "cause for war." Israel had refused to apologize since the incident. In September of 2011, a United Nations panel found Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was legal but that the raid was "excessive and unreasonable." According to a senior White House official, Erdogan accepted the apology. Another senior administration official said this was a "first step" toward normalization of relations between the two countries. The phone call between Netanyahu and Erdogan took place in a trailer at the Tel-Aviv airport where President Obama was taking off for Amman. The senior administration official said at one point Obama jumped in on the call.

Italy-India row: Rome to send marines back for trial

03/22/13:  The BBC reports two Italian marines accused of murdering two Indian fishermen, in a case that has sparked a diplomatic row, are to be sent back to Delhi for trial. The Indian government had allowed them to return to Italy to vote in last month's election. But when they failed to return, India's Supreme Court ruled Italy's ambassador was barred from leaving the country. The Italian government said it had received assurances about the men's treatment and their human rights. The marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, are accused of shooting the fishermen off the Kerala coast in February 2012. The marines had been guarding an Italian oil tanker and said they mistook the fishermen for pirates. The marines, who had been out on bail awaiting trial, were allowed to fly back to Italy for the February 2013 general election on condition that they returned to stand trial by 22 March. Italian ambassador Daniele Mancini gave his personal assurance that they would return within four weeks. But then Rome decided that they would not fly back to Delhi, arguing that India was violating international law by putting them on trial, as the shooting had taken place in international waters.

Iran indicts 18 over killing of nuclear scientists

03/18/13: The Miami Herald reports Iran’s judiciary has indicted eighteen suspects on charges of involvement in the killing of nuclear scientists.  Since 2010, at least five Iranian nuclear scientists, including a manager at the Natanz enrichment facility, have been killed.  Tehran has accused Israel’s Mossad, the CIA, and Britain’s MI6 of being behind the assassinations; Washington and London have denied the allegations, while Tel Aviv has not commented.  Iranian state media said Sunday that authorities have issued indictments against the eighteen suspects, who will be tried in the coming months.  In 2012, Iran hanged a man for the 2010 killing of a nuclear physicist.

Iran launches destroyers in Caspian Sea

03/17/13: The Miami Herald reports Iran on Sunday launched its domestically built destroyer in the Caspian Sea, the nation's first heavy military presence in the oil-rich sea.  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the guided-missile destroyer Jamaran-2 in the port city of Anzali, about 150 miles northwest of Tehran.  Iran launched a previous version of the Jamaran destroyer in 2010 in the Persian Gulf.  Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, the nations surrounding the Caspian, have not reached an agreement on exploitation of its resources.  Iran supports equally sharing the sea, but the other four countries have reached agreements on exploiting the resources through mutual pacts, putting Iran's share at about 12% of the resources of the sea.

Thai navy denies shooting Rohingya refugees

03/15/13:  The BBC reports the Thai navy has denied reports that its personnel opened fire on a group of Rohingya refugees, killing at least two. Thai Navy commander Admiral Surasak Rounroengrom said that "no [Thai] navy officer could be that ruthless". He was responding to reports that Thai sailors shot at a boat of around 20 Rohingya refugees off Thailand's south-western coast in February. Thousands of Rohingyas are fleeing ethnic violence in western Burma. Many of the boats, often bound for Malaysia, end up on Thailand's west coast. Eyewitnesses told journalists and human rights groups that they saw several bodies in the water, and had sheltered some refugees who escaped after the incident. Adm Surasak said that navy officers had no reason to kill Rohingya refugees, because they were not an enemy. In the past, Thai authorities have been accused of dragging refugee boats that end up in Thai waters out to sea, leaving them to die. They have also been accused of selling on asylum seekers to human traffickers. While the government has promised an investigation into the incident, Thai officials are rarely called to account over these kinds of allegations, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.

Italian marines will not be returned to India for trial

03/12/13:  The New York Times reports two Italian marines facing murder charges in India will not be returned there for trial, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Monday. The Italians, who were part of an antipiracy military security team, are accused of fatally shooting two Indian fishermen who they believed were pirates in February 2012. India allowed the marines to travel to Italy last month to vote in national elections, and they were scheduled to return to India. But the ministry said in a statement that India’s decision to try the pair in India would violate their rights, in particular the principle of immunity for foreign state actors. The long fight over the marines’ fate has strained ties between India and Italy.

China’s ‘second navy’

03/01/13:  The Washington Times reports in recent years, China’s State Oceanic Administration has become the de facto coast guard, with one important caveat. It acts as China’s second navy in deliberately challenging the existing maritime demarcations and claims of virtually all of China’s maritime neighbors. Before 2000, the State Oceanic Administration had no patrol vessels of any significance. In 1998, the little-known agency established a new division called the China Marine Surveillance. At the time, the division had only a limited number of vessels of several hundred tons of displacement in size. However, within a few years, the division emerged as a powerful maritime force with an impressive fleet of large vessels and helicopters, armed or unarmed, known to many as China’s second navy. In 2000, the service began to build surveillance ships larger than 1,000 tons. Now it deploys 13 ships, including several as large as 4,000 tons. Within the next several years, China is scheduled to launch 36 newer and more-modern large surveillance vessels. In addition to its fleet, a total of 11 naval warships were turned over to the surveillance division in recent years, including two missile destroyers, Nanjing (DDG 131) and Nanning (DDG 162), each around 4,000 tons.

5 Somalis convicted of piracy in USS Ashland case

02/28/13:  The Miami Herald reports five Somali men were convicted of piracy Wednesday for the 2010 attack on the USS Ashland off the coast of Africa. A sixth man who claimed to be the group's leader had already pleaded guilty to lesser charges and testified that they thought they were attacking a merchant ship when one of his crew members fired an AK-47 at the Ashland. Prosecutors said the men intended to board the ship and hold it for ransom, a common practice in Somalia. But before that could happen, the Virginia-based amphibious dock landing ship returned fire with a 25mm cannon, killing one man and setting the pirates' skiff on fire. Defense attorneys had argued to the federal jury that the men were returning to Somalia after ferrying refugees to Yemen when they came across the ship in the Gulf of Aden. They said an AK-47 was fired in the Ashland's direction to get its attention so it could help them after they were wandering around lost at sea.

China navy launches new stealth frigate

02/26/13:  The BBC reports China's navy has taken delivery of the first of a new kind of stealth frigate, as tension continues with neighbouring countries over maritime borders. The Type 056 stealth frigate has a sleek design that helps it evade radar detection, and needs just one-third of the crew used by its predecessor. The first ship was delivered to the Chinese navy in Shanghai on Monday, state-run news agency Xinhua said. China said the new vessel is part of a systematic upgrading of naval hardware. The frigate - one of 20 being built - will mainly be deployed on escort missions and for anti-submarine operations. Xinhua said it would enhance the country's ability to safeguard national security and defend maritime sovereignty. The arrival of the new vessel comes at a time when China is in dispute with a number of neighbouring countries over national boundaries in the East and South China Seas. Mostly recently Beijing has been arguing with Tokyo over the Senkaku Islands - known as the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese - which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China.

Chinese buoys are focus of latest dispute over contested islands

02/22/13:  The New York Times reports Japan has asked the Chinese government to explain why Chinese ships have strategically placed several buoys in the East China Sea near a group of disputed islands, a Japanese government spokesman said on Friday. The spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, told reporters that ships from China’s State Oceanic Administration, which is similar to the coast guard, had placed the buoys last week in Chinese-controlled waters near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The uninhabited islands have been controlled by Japan for decades, but are claimed by China and also Taiwan. Japanese media reported that the buoys might be used to track Japanese submarines in waters around the uninhabited islands, where Japanese and Chinese ships have chased each other in recent months. If so, their placement could represent another step in an ominous escalation in the standoff, which began with coast guard and other nonmilitary ships, but has recently begun to involve more heavily armed navy ships.

China 'locks radar' on Japanese ship

02/05/13:  The BBC reports a Chinese navy frigate has locked its weapon-targeting radar on a Japanese ship, Tokyo says, amid mounting tensions over a territorial row.  Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said the incident happened on 30 January near islands claimed by both nations in the East China Sea.  He said this had prompted Tokyo to lodge a formal protest with Beijing.  The row, over islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, has escalated in recent months.  Taiwan also claims the island chain (known as Diaoyutai in Taipei), which is controlled by Japan.

South Korea, US begin naval drills with nuclear tension high

02/04/13: BBC News reports South Korea and the US have begun three days of naval exercises in an apparent show of force aimed at North Korea.  The scheduled drills, involving a US nuclear submarine, come after Pyongyang said it may carry out its third nuclear test.  Washington and Seoul have promised “significant consequences” if the North goes ahead with the underground explosion; meanwhile Pyongyang has criticized the naval drills as “war-mongering.”  The exercises, taking place off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, involve live fire, naval maneuvers, and submarine detection drills.  The drills were planned before the latest rise in tensions, but Jung Seung-Jo, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, said the presence of the nuclear-powered submarine USS San Francisco in the region “would itself serve as a message to North Korea.”

Yemen says intercepted ship had weapons from Iran for insurgents

02/04/13: Al Jazeera reports Yemeni officials confirmed on Saturday that a ship intercepted last month off its coast was an Iranian vessel trying to smuggle explosives and surface-to-air missiles into the country.  Officials in Washington said the seizure of the ship on January 23 was coordinated with the US Navy, and that the intercepted shipment was believed to have been from Iran and destined for insurgents in northern Yemen.  A US official said Sunday the ship demonstrates “ever-pernicious Iranian meddling in other countries in the region.”  The Yemeni government believes that Iran is supporting the Houthis, a Shi‘a insurgent group based in northern Yemen.  Tehran denies any interference in Yemen’s affairs.

Chinese boat ‘illegally fishing in Japanese waters’

02/02/13:  The BBC reports Japanese coastguards have detained a Chinese boat for allegedly fishing in a Japanese exclusive economic zone illegally, officials say, amid an ongoing row over disputed islands. The boat with a crew of at least 12 was fishing for coral near Miyako island in the Okinawa chain. The incident occurred about 150km (95 miles) from the disputed islands. It came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to defend Japan against Chinese "provocation".

Chinese firm will run strategic Pakistani port

02/01/13:  The New York Times reports Pakistan is handing management control of a strategic but commercially troubled deep-sea port to a Chinese company, the information minister confirmed Thursday.  The minister said that control of the port at Gwadar, near Pakistan’s border with Iran, would pass from the Port of Singapore Authority to a company he identified as China Overseas Port Holdings, in a move that had been anticipated for some time.  The fate of Gwadar, once billed as Pakistan’s answer to the bustling port city of Dubai, UAE, has been a focus of speculation about China’s military and economic ambitions in South Asia for the past decade. Some American strategists have described it as the westernmost link in the “string of pearls,” a line of China-friendly ports stretching from mainland China to the Persian Gulf, that could ultimately ease expansion by the Chinese Navy in the region. Gwadar is close to the Strait of Hormuz, an important oil-shipping lane.  But other analysts note that Gwadar is many years from reaching its potential, and they suggest that fears of creeping Chinese influence might be overblown.

US Navy to scrap vessel stuck on Philippine reef

01/31/13:  The New York Times reports The United States Navy has decided to scrap the $277 million minesweeper stuck on an environmentally sensitive Philippine reef, a spokesman said on Thursday, while Philippine officials examined potential legal violations and fines to be levied against the United States.  The complete loss of a Navy ship due to an accident during peace time “is a rarity,” Commander Stockman said.  The ship, the 224-foot USS Guardian, struck the Tubbataha Reef, a Unesco World Heritage site in the southern Philippines, on Jan. 17. According to Unesco, the reefs are home to more than 350 species of coral and almost 500 types of fish, including a wide variety of creatures, like whales, dolphins, sharks and turtles. The Navy is investigating the cause of the incident, including the possibility that inaccurate digital navigation charts were a factor.

Yemen, US intercept ship with 'large cache of illegal arms'

01/29/13:  CNN reports Yemeni authorities working with the US Navy intercepted a ship carrying a "substantial" cache of "illegal arms" such as surface-to-air missiles, potent explosives and rocket-propelled grenades, a U.S. official and Yemen's government said Monday.  The incident took place in Yemeni territorial waters in the Arabian Sea last Wednesday, according to a statement issued five days later from Yemen's embassy in Washington.  The crew of the USS Farragut, a Naval destroyer, was working with Yemeni authorities when they spotted the vessel, said an official in the Obama administration. The ship had several flags onboard, but no reliable documentation showing where it came from, the official added Monday.

UN to consider validity of China's claim over disputed islands

01/25/13:  Reuters reports the United Nations is planning to consider later this year the scientific validity of a claim by China that a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea are part of its territory, although Japan says the world body should not be involved.  Tensions over the uninhabited islands - located near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge oil-and-gas reserves - flared after Japan's government purchased them from a private Japanese owner in September, sparking violent anti-Japanese protests across China and a military standoff.  In a submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, China claims that the continental shelf in the East China Sea is a natural prolongation of China's land territory and that it includes the disputed islands.  Under the UN convention, a country can extend its 200-nautical-mile economic zone if it can prove that the continental shelf is a natural extension of its land mass. The UN commission assesses the scientific validity of claims, but any disputes have to be resolved between states, not by the commission.

US Navy ship aground on Philippine reef 'taking in water'

01/24/13:  The BBC reports a US Navy minesweeper stuck on a coral reef in a Unesco heritage site off the Philippine coast is badly damaged and taking in water, officials say.  The USS Guardian struck the reef in the Sulu Sea south-east of Palawan island last Thursday after completing a port call at the former Subic Bay base.  US officials say a salvage operation could take weeks to complete.  The reef is in the Tubbataha National Marine Park, designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco. There had been hopes that the ship could simply be towed off the reef, but officials said the vessel was too badly damaged for that and that the first priority was to pump fuel out of the ship as it was being battered by rough waters.

Japan make overture to China in islands dispute

01/22/13:  The New York Times reports a member of Japan's coalition government arrived in Beijing on Tuesday with a letter for the head of the Communist Party from the Japanese prime minister to try to help calm an escalating dispute between the two countries over contested islands in the East China Sea, Japanese officials said. Separately, the Philippines announced on Tuesday that it would formally challenge China’s claims in the South China Sea before a United Nations tribunal that oversees the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

US Navy commander apologizes for ship stuck in reef off Philippines

01/22/13: CNN reports a US Navy minesweeper remained stuck in a reef teeming with endangered marine life off the Philippines on Sunday, prompting an American commander to apologize and promise stepped-up efforts to prevent further damage. The USS Guardian ran aground early Thursday in the Tubbataha Reef, about 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island in the Sulu Sea, the U.S. Navy reported. All 79 sailors were evacuated from the 224-foot ship. Hazardous weather and rough seas have hindered efforts to survey the empty Guardian and the surrounding area, though the Navy acknowledges damage to the reef.

China-Japan island dispute escalates to the air

01/18/13:  The New York Times reports the action in the skies over the East China Sea started simply enough.  Last week, the Chinese government sent a civilian surveillance plane, a twin propeller aircraft, to fly near the uninhabited islands at the heart of a growing feud between China and Japan. Tokyo, in response, ordered F-15 fighter jets to take a look at what it considered Chinese meddling. The Chinese then sent their own fighters.  It was the first time that supersonic Chinese and Japanese military fighters were in the air together since the dispute over the islands erupted last year, significantly increasing the risk of a mistake that could lead to armed conflict at a time when both countries, despite their mutual economic interests, are going through a period of heightened nationalism that recalls their longstanding regional rivalry.

US to officially recognise Somalia government

01/17/13:  The BBC reports the US is to officially recognise Somalia's government in Mogadishu after more than 20 years, says a US official. The move could pave the way for US and international economic aid for the Horn of Africa nation.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce the news on Thursday at a meeting in Washington with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.  He took office after the first vote of its kind since military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.  The move recognised the new government's progress towards political stability and "breaking the back" of an al-Shabab insurgency, Mr Carson added.

China scrambles fighters to tail Japanese planes

01/11/13:  The Miami Herald reports China says it dispatched two fighter jets to tail Japanese warplanes in the East China Sea as tensions over disputed islands simmer. The Defense Ministry said Friday it sent two J-10 fighters to the area near the islands on Thursday after a Chinese surveillance plane reported being closely followed by two F-15s belonging to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. A Japanese surveillance plane was also in the area during the incident, the ministry said. Chinese ships and planes have frequently patrolled the area since a flare-up in tensions in September over ownership of the uninhabited Japanese-controlled islands, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China.

Navy to stretch deployments; aircraft carrier fleet down to 9

01/10/13:  The Washington Times reports Sailors and Marines serving on aircraft carriers can expect long deployments for the next few years because of ongoing crises in the Middle East and a shrinking number of carriers available for duty. The venerable USS Enterprise, commissioned in 1961 as the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was deactivated last month, and the USS Abraham Lincoln is undergoing a four-year overhaul to increase its life span. That has reduced the U.S. fleet of carriers from 11 to nine, as the Navy struggles to maintain a two-carrier presence in the Middle East as required by the Obama administration since 2010. “We need 11 carriers to do the job. That’s been pretty clearly written, and that’s underwritten in our defense strategic guidance,” Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, said recently. Carrier deployments have lengthened gradually over the past decade, from six months to as long as nine months.

New Russian nuclear submarine enters service

01/10/13:  The Miami Herald reports the Russian navy on Thursday hoisted its flag on a new nuclear powered submarine intended to form a key part of the country's future nuclear deterrent. The Yury Dolgoruky, which carries 16 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles, is the first of a new series of Borei-class submarines that will replace older Soviet-built ships. Another submarine of the same type is currently undergoing sea trials and two others are now under construction.  Commissioning of the new submarines is part of an ambitious arms modernization program that envisages spending over 20 trillion rubles ($657 billion) on new weapons through 2020.

Japan summons China's envoy after ships near disputed islands

01/08/13:  The New York Times reports the Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned China’s ambassador on Tuesday after Chinese ships entered Japanese-controlled waters for 13 hours, a prolonged incursion that seemed to escalate a standoff over a group of disputed islands.  The ministry said the deputy foreign minister, Akitaka Saiki, strongly protested the incursion on Monday by four Chinese surveillance ships near the islands.  The flare-up of tensions over the sovereignty of the islands in the East China Sea has soured ties between Asia’s two largest economies, leading to anti-Japanese riots and boycotts of Japanese goods in China. Monday’s incursion was one of the longest yet by Chinese vessels since the tensions began several months ago, when the Japanese government began efforts to buy three of the five islands from a private Japanese citizen.

Iran seizes 2 Saudi fishing boats

01/08/13: The Miami Herald reports an Iranian news agency says the country's coast guard has seized two Saudi fishing boats after they allegedly strayed into Iranian waters. The Tuesday report by the semiofficial Fars agency quotes the local coast guard commander in southern Iranian port of Bushehr as saying the guard detained all 10 of the boat's crew members, all of them Indian nationals. Fars says Iran released another Saudi fishing boat and its four crew members after it briefly seized the boat and its crew last week. Last week Saudi Arabia's coast guard detained 21 Iranians on two fishing boats on similar charges.

Iran tests new versions of missiles in exercise

01/02/13:  The New York Times reports Iranian forces fired what military officers said was a new generation of surface-to-air missiles on Monday during a wide-ranging naval exercise that focused on striking hypothetical unmanned aircraft and vessels in international waters to the south of the country, Iranian news media reported. The missiles were fired on the fourth day of a six-day naval exercise that started Friday, when Iran announced that it had begun the exercises that would test a new version of its Thunder surface-to-air midrange missile. They were meant to demonstrate the country’s defense of its territorial waters. The exercise also included drills using Iranian-made drones and submarines.

Iran starts navy drills in Strait of Hormuz

12/28/12:  Reuters reports Iran started on Friday six days of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, the official IRNA news agency reported, maneuvers aimed at showcasing its military capabilities in what is a vital oil and gas shipping route.  Naval commander Sayyari said the drills would last until Wednesday across an area of about 1 million square kilometers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and northern parts of the Indian Ocean. The goal of the maneuvers are to show "the armed forces' military capabilities" in defending Iran's borders as well as sending a message of peace and friendship to neighboring countries.

NATO: Somali pirates seized no ships for 6 months

12/18/12:  The Miami Herald reports NATO officials say no ships have been hijacked off the Somali coast in the second half of this year, reflecting a sharp decrease in piracy along one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Commodore Ben Bekkering attributed the success to the continuing efforts of an international fleet along the coastline, combined with better security measures by merchant ships and increased pressure on the pirates within Somalia itself. About 20 vessels from NATO, the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and other countries regularly patrol Somalia's 1,900-mile-long (3,100-kilometer) coastline.

China submits East China Sea islands claim to UN

12/14/12:  The BBC reports China has submitted to the UN a detailed explanation of its claims to a disputed area of the East China Sea. It argues that certain geological features prove its territory extends out to a group of islands near Japan. A UN commission of geological experts will examine China's submission but does not have the authority to resolve conflicting claims. Beijing and Tokyo have long laid claim to the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Iran shipping signals conceal Syria ship movements

12/06/12:  Reuters reports Iranian oil tankers are sending incorrect satellite signals that confuse global tracking systems and appear to conceal voyages made by other ships to Syria, which, like Iran, is subject to international sanctions. The two countries are close allies and have helped each other deal with shortages by swapping badly needed fuels such as gasoline for diesel. Sanctions imposed on Iran to hamper its nuclear program have blocked sales of its oil to the West and made it increasingly difficult for Iran's fleet to obtain insurance and financing for deals with Asian buyers in China, India, and South Korea.

Asean chief warns on China's ship patrol plan

11/30/12:  The BBC reports the head of Asean has said China's plan to board ships in disputed areas of the South China Sea could escalate tensions. Secretary-General Pitsuwan said Beijing's plan was "a very serious turn of events". On Thursday China said that it granted its border patrol police the power to board and search ships in the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the region.

Japan to decide on whether to prosecute US airman in assault case

11/19/12: ABC News reports police on Okinawa, Japan have sent prosecutors a case involving a US airman suspected of assaulting a teenager after a drinking binge.  The Japanese prosecuting authorities will now decide whether to press charges against the airman, whose name had not been released as of Monday.  Police believe he entered an apartment near a bar where he had been drinking, punched the boy in the face and tried to flee through the window.  The incident came shortly after all US troops in Japan were put under a curfew following an alleged rape last month that sparked outrage on Okinawa, which hosts more than half of the 52,000 US troops stationed in Japan.

Navy rushes robotic tools to Persian Gulf to clear mines

11/15/12:  The New York Times reports the US Navy is rushing more of the newest unmanned mine-clearing technology to the Persian Gulf while creating two new sets of crews to operate minesweepers in the region, Navy officials said Wednesday. The Navy says it has come up with plans to increase its deployments of the latest generation of robotic equipment that can detect and remotely detonate mines as a way to help guarantee a continued — and credible — countermine ability in waters off Iran into next year and beyond, when the number of minesweeping ships on patrol may be reduced.

Chinese patrol ships pressuring Japan over islands

11/03/12:  The New York Times reports Chinese patrol ships entered waters around a disputed island group in the East China Sea for a 14th straight day on Friday, in what analysts here called a sign that China had embarked on what appeared to be a new, long-term strategy for challenging Japan’s control of the islands. While Chinese ships have sailed near the islands before, this is the first time since a recent flare-up began that they have plied the waters so consistently. Analysts say that suggests China is trying to wear down Japan’s resolve in the dispute, and possibly even trying to chip away at Japan’s claim of having effective control over the uninhabited islands established in part by its own maritime patrols.

Commentary: The US military needs to prepare for more operations along the world's coastlines

11/02/12:  Foreign Policy published an article by Richard Mills arguing that the US needs to focus more on naval capacity. Maritime nations make up 80 percent of the international community, increasing the likelihood that the next crisis or regional conflict will occur within the operational reach of US naval forces. With the initial response capability and decision room it provides, the naval force represents the leading edge, forward operating force called for in the nation's power projection strategy. As a critical element in that strategy, the Marine Corps conducts operations to deter and combat adversaries or deny them the ability to exert their will on US interests. However, further refinement of aggregated operations and littoral maneuver is required to exploit our at-sea advantage.

US, Japan to hold joint military drill amid island row with China.

10/30/12: Reuters reports Japan and the United States will hold a biennial joint military exercise in Japan in November in a move likely to further anger China amid heightened tensions between the two Asian giants over disputed islets in the East China Sea. About 37,400 military personnel from Japan will join some 10,000 U.S. troops in the November 5-16 drill, an official at Japan's Self-Defence Forces said. China's Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said last week China was "paying close attention to the relevant moves by the Japanese", when asked about a joint military exercise between the United States and Japan.