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SOUTH CHINA SEA

PLAN vessels Qingdao and Taicang
INS Airafat L24
Beach landing operations
After a recent visit to Vietnam by the Indian Naval vessel INS Airavat L24 she has confronted by a unit of the "Chinese Navy".  However both navies have denied the incident so was it a prank or a PLAN officer acting on his own which seems extremely unlikely.  According to the report a Chinese warship confronted the Indian warship and asked the vessel to identify herself.  At the time the INS Airafat L24 was within the Vietnam Economic Zone and International Waters.  The caller stated in English that the Indian amphibious assault ship was entering Chinese waters and they must leave.


Somehow this has earmarks of a dangerous prank but if true sets a very dangerous precedent.  The PLA is making visits and receiving guests worldwide to establish contacts.  At the same time it is expanding its sphere of influence by expanding its Navy.  Claiming the South China Sea as Chinese Waters it now has a Navy capable of enforcing this viewpoint.  The South China Sea is International Waters except for the Law of the Sea agreed Territorial Waters of each of the countries it touches and the Economic Zones of all those countries.  There is considerable countering claiming of certain sea areas with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) making most of those claims.


China claimed that the South China Sea is its entirely rejecting claims by other nations such as Vietnam, Malaya, Brunei and Taiwan over the resource rich region.   Incidents like this are ill advised, unprofessional and counter productive to the PLA currently establishing contacts with other nations.  The PRC actions could well and all too easily lead to a confrontation with force being involved. 


Good Watch.

The 400 of our fellow seafarers are still held captive both ashore and off the coast of Somalia in most degrading conditions.   We ask the Maritime Authorities to stop writing reports, making speech's and take effective action to free them.

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