Gov. Blinky Ishihara wants to buy the Senkaku Rocks

[Coligny]

Take control ... destroy ... act of war.
One does not enter into such an undertaking lightly, especially if one is unsure if anyone will be covering one's ass when the shit hits the fan. Clearly not Russia. The US? I kinda doubt it. I'm pretty sure there are some frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations going on right about now.

Not so fast... Vietnamese offshore ressources are exploited with gazprom. Putin's money machine...
Don't be so sure he's just going to stay back and relax while the chinese steals from him...

[Russell]

Take control ... destroy ... act of war.
One does not enter into such an undertaking lightly, especially if one is unsure if anyone will be covering one's ass when the shit hits the fan. Clearly not Russia. The US? I kinda doubt it. I'm pretty sure there are some frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations going on right about now.

Not so fast... Vietnamese offshore ressources are exploited with gazprom. Putin's money machine...
Don't be so sure he's just going to stay back and relax while the chinese steals from him...

Maybe Vietnam can make a call for tenders to drill in the area also claimed by China.

Just curious who will put in a bid...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Take control ... destroy ... act of war.
One does not enter into such an undertaking lightly, especially if one is unsure if anyone will be covering one's ass when the shit hits the fan. Clearly not Russia. The US? I kinda doubt it. I'm pretty sure there are some frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations going on right about now.

Not so fast... Vietnamese offshore ressources are exploited with gazprom. Putin's money machine...
Don't be so sure he's just going to stay back and relax while the chinese steals from him...

Hell, their joint venture is till called Vietsovpetro.

http://www.vietsov.com.vn/Pages/default_en.aspx

[Coligny]

And it runs a bit deeper than that, one of their Nationnal holidays is to celebrate Vietnamese-Russian(soviet) Friendship, all the streets fly the Vietnamese and USSR flags together.

When China fuck around with Philipine/Thailand or even Japan it might not be such a big deal.
Fucking around with Vietnam, already not so smart by itself, these guys don't usually give up too quick...
Fucking around with Russian oil... That can turn pretty ugly...

[Russell]

The Vietkong should offer part of the oil to the Mericans.

Then the fun really starts...

[Russell]

Japan & Australia consider submarine deal that could rattle China

Japan will get the chance to pursue an unprecedented military export deal when its defense and foreign ministers meet their Australian counterparts in Tokyo next month.

Japan is considering selling submarine technology to Australia – perhaps even a fleet of fully engineered, stealthy vessels, according to Japanese officials. Sources on both sides say the discussions so far have encouraged a willingness to speed up talks.

Any agreement would take months to negotiate and remains far from certain, but even a deal for Japan to supply technology would likely run to billions of dollars and represent a major portion of Australia's overall $37 billion submarine program.

It would also be bound to turn heads in China.

Experts say a Japan-Australia deal would send a signal to Asia's emerging superpower of Japan's willingness, under nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to export arms to a region wary of China's growing naval strength, especially its pursuit of territorial claims in the East and South China seas.

A deal would also help connect Japanese arms-makers like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries to the world market for big, sophisticated weaponry, a goal Abe sees as consistent with Japanese security.

Abe has eased decades-old restrictions on Japan's military exports and is looking to give its military a freer hand in conflicts by changing the interpretation of a pacifist constitution that dates back to Japan's defeat in World War Two.

"There’s a clear danger that aligning ourselves closely with Japan on a technology as sensitive as submarine technology would be read in China as a significant tightening in what they fear is a drift towards a Japan-Australia alliance," said Hugh White, a professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University. "It would be a gamble by Australia on where Japan is going to be 30 years from now."

Australia’s proposed fleet of submarines is at the core of its long-term defense strategy. Although Canberra will not begin replacing its Collins-class vessels until the 2030s, the design work could take a decade or more and each submarine could take about five years to build, according to industry analysts.

A final decision on the type and number of submarines Australia will build is expected to be made after a review due in March 2015.

Australian officials have expressed an interest in the silent-running diesel-electric propulsion systems used in Japan’s Soryu diesel submarines, built by Mitsubishi Heavy and Kawasaki Heavy. Those vessels would give Australia a naval force that could reach deep into the Indian Ocean.

More recently, Japanese military officials and lawmakers with an interest in defense policy have signaled a willingness to consider supplying a full version of the highly regarded Soryu to Australia if certain conditions can be met. These would include concluding a framework agreement on security policy with Canberra that would lock future Australian governments into an alliance with Japan, the officials said.

Mitsubishi Heavy had no comment. Kawasaki Heavy said it had not been approached about any proposal regarding the Soryu and could not comment.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he favors boosting strategic cooperation with Japan. For their part, Australia’s military planners are similarly enthusiastic about cooperation as a means of hedging against an over-reliance on the United States, people with knowledge of their thinking said.

Ultra quiet

The Soryu’s ultra-quiet drivetrain could avoid a problem that makes Australia’s six current submarines prone to detection, said sources with knowledge of the discussions in Australia.

The Australian government has committed to building the A$40 billion ($37 billion) replacement for its Collins-class submarines at home. However, a government-commissioned report from U.S.-based think-tank Rand Corp found that Australia lacked enough engineers to design and build a vessel it said would be as complex as a space shuttle.

"The likely practical approach is that Australia would partner with a foreign partner company and government," the report published last year said.

Australian Defence Minister David Johnston met his Japanese counterpart, Itsunori Onodera, in Perth recently and the pair meet again in June in Tokyo along with foreign ministers. Abe will follow up with a trip to Australia in July, one of the sources in Tokyo said.

Johnston said this month he believed the Soryu was the best conventional submarine in the world. He has also said he expects Japan and Australia will work together on research in marine hydrodynamics as an initial area of cooperation while working toward a "framework agreement" on military technology.

It is possible that Australia could purchase submarine hulls from Germany or Sweden and then opt to buy Japanese drivetrains for the vessels, although that would add a layer of complexity and additional cost, officials said.

Participants in a joint-development deal could also include Britain's BAE Systems and state-owned Australian Submarine Corp, which maintains the nation's current fleet.

Australian Submarine Corp's head of strategy and communications, Sean Costello, said the ship-builder had hosted Japanese government officials at its shipyards in March 2013 but no technical discussions had yet taken place.

BAE spokesman Mark Ritson said the British firm was keen to play a major role in Australia's submarine program and was in regular contact with the Australian government.

In Japan, any submarine supply deal could face roadblocks.

Some senior officials in Japan's maritime self-defense forces are wary of any joint development that could risk a leak of sensitive information about the identifying "signature" of Japanese submarines, one official in Tokyo said.

However, exports would enable Japanese arms-makers to spread their costs over a bigger production base, making them more efficient. At the same time, Abe has pressed for a loosening of legal limits on Japan's military, including an end to a ban on helping allies under attack - though opinion polls show the Japanese public is divided on Abe's security policies.

The Soryu submarines have a range of more than 11,000 km (6,800 miles) and come armed with Harpoon missiles designed to hit enemy ships operating over the horizon. The export or transfer of such lethal technology would be a first in Japan and could face political opposition.

"It’s impossible for us to move quickly on this. It has to be a gradual cooperation," one Japanese official with knowledge of the discussions said.

Link

I read somewhere a while ago that the current (British-made) submarines of the Ozzy navy are a pain in the ass, so there is a strong willingness to purchase Japanese ones.

[Coligny]

Didn't the Canadian get completely assraped buying second hands English subs that were complete lemons ?

[matsuki]

Are the Japanese subs really all that great? If we're talking 15 years from now and if the Chinese know what subs they're buying, I somehow doubt these subs are going to be as stealthy as they're thinkin'

[Coligny]

Wonder how things are going behind the scene...
Starting to have many orders from Chinaland that take a surprisingly long time to -not- show up -yet- while anything from Great Britun takes no more than 5 days

[Samurai_Jerk]

China ends drilling operations in disputed sea

China on Wednesday was moving a massive oil rig away from waters claimed by Vietnam after announcing the end of operations, a development that should end a tense standoff between the nations in the South China Sea.

But in withdrawing the rig on its own terms, Beijing has demonstrated it will not be stopped from carrying out exploration activities in waters it considers its own — regardless of the regional or international criticism such actions provoke.

China deployed the rig in early May close to the Paracel Islands, triggering fury in Hanoi, which demanded Beijing withdraw it and sent patrol ships to try and disrupt the operations.

[legion]

Let's start a rumour there is oil under the moat around the imperial palace

[matsuki]

So either Vietnam succeeded in pressuring China out of there....or the Chinese didn't find any oil.

Let's start a rumour there is oil under the moat around the imperial palace

[Samurai_Jerk]

India Warships Off Japan Show Rising Lure as China Counterweight

Japan’s Sasebo naval base this month saw unusual variety in vessel traffic that’s typically dominated by Japanese and U.S. warships. An Indian frigate and destroyer docked en route to joint exercises in the western Pacific.

The INS Shivalik and INS Ranvijay’s appearance at the port near Nagasaki showed Japan’s interest in developing ties with the South Asian nation as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government faces deepening tensions with China. (SHCOMP) Japan for the third time joined the U.S. and India in the annual “Malabar” drills that usually are held in the Bay of Bengal.

[Coligny]

We just need a good war mixed with the ebola crisis, mixed with some bird-porc flue...

Anybody knows a cheap storage company ? I'm maxed out on noodles and fuel, still need more space for cat litter and kibbles...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japan offers vessels to Vietnam to boost its sea strength

Japan will give six navy boats to Vietnam to boost its patrols and surveillance in the South China Sea, Japan's foreign minister said on Friday, in the latest sign of a strengthening of alliances between states locked in maritime rows with China.

The used vessels, worth 500 million yen ($4.86 million), would be accompanied by training and equipment to help the coastguard and fisheries surveillance effort, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said after talks with Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.

[Coligny]

VietNam... come for the hookers, stay for the coal and offshore oil...

[Samurai_Jerk]

How about "cum IN the hookers?"

[Russell]

Japan names islets in disputed area

Japan said Friday that it will name five uninhabited islands as part of a group in the East China Sea, a move likely to spark anger from other claimants China and Taiwan.

They are among the 158 uninhabited islands to be named Friday as Japan steps up protection and claims over border islands and waters around them.

The government’s maritime policy department said it will publish a list of all the names on its website later Friday.

The five islands are part of the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, island group in the East China Sea, also claimed by China and Taiwan, and a regional flashpoint.

The names will be used for new maps. The islets are within Japan’s established exclusive economic zone and will not change maritime boundaries.

More

Summer quiz: suggest names these five islands. Prizes ranging from green snot to a nice smiley.

I already have one: 石原島...

[Mike Oxlong]

Japan names islets in disputed area

Japan said Friday that it will name five uninhabited islands as part of a group in the East China Sea, a move likely to spark anger from other claimants China and Taiwan.

They are among the 158 uninhabited islands to be named Friday as Japan steps up protection and claims over border islands and waters around them.

The government’s maritime policy department said it will publish a list of all the names on its website later Friday.

The five islands are part of the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, island group in the East China Sea, also claimed by China and Taiwan, and a regional flashpoint.

The names will be used for new maps. The islets are within Japan’s established exclusive economic zone and will not change maritime boundaries.

More

Summer quiz: suggest names these five islands. Prizes ranging from green snot to a nice smiley.

I already have one: 石原島...

Can I play? How about fortune island?

[matsuki]

油島？

ぎり島？

金玉島？

[yanpa]

第三国島？

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

大和

[Samurai_Jerk]

China Declares Australia a Military Threat Over U.S. Pact

China’s state-run media have declared Australia a threat to its national security, after Australia finalized a 25-year military pact with the United States.

The United States currently has 1,200 troops from the Marine Corps and Air Force training with Australian troops for humanitarian and disaster relief. The defense agreement will increase the number of U.S. troops at Darwin in northern Australia to 2,500.

The Chinese regime is none too pleased about the agreement, however.

Li Jie, rear admiral of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, told Want China Times that Australia could pressure China’s supply lines in the Strait of Malacca in a conflict over the South China Sea.
“Australia is therefore likely to become a threat to China’s national security,” it states.

[Russell]

What's next?!?

China claiming ownership of an island called "Australia" because of hystoric reasons.

[wagyl]

Who needs hysterical reasons when you have got Gavin Menzies?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Menz ... _the_World

[Coligny]

I saw that movie... And I have the weirdest boner right now...

image.jpg

[Yokohammer]

China Declares Australia a Military Threat Over U.S. Pact

China’s state-run media have declared Australia a threat to its national security, after Australia finalized a 25-year military pact with the United States.

The United States currently has 1,200 troops from the Marine Corps and Air Force training with Australian troops for humanitarian and disaster relief. The defense agreement will increase the number of U.S. troops at Darwin in northern Australia to 2,500.

The Chinese regime is none too pleased about the agreement, however.

Li Jie, rear admiral of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, told Want China Times that Australia could pressure China’s supply lines in the Strait of Malacca in a conflict over the South China Sea.
“Australia is therefore likely to become a threat to China’s national security,” it states.

This is kinda funny. You have obscenely monied Chinese buying up half of Australia at the moment and moving there in droves, and Australia is a threat?

Oh, the irony ...

[Coligny]

Seems they don't want to pay for the other half...

[legion]

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-ch ... kh-2011745


China decides it owns India too.

Lot of borders keep PLA busy

[Coligny]

Great... Idiots with nukes showing off...