Posted on 04/14/2010 4:52:44 PM PDT by Shaun_MD
TOKYO —
Two Chinese submarines and eight destroyers were spotted by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force on Saturday in the high seas between the main island of Okinawa and Miyako Island in the southernmost prefecture, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Tuesday.
The defense chief said the Chinese submarines and destroyers were navigating southeastward, adding that Tokyo has never before confirmed such a large number of Chinese vessels near Japan.
The Joint Staff Office of the Self-Defense Forces later said that Chinese submarines were seen on the sea surface near Japan for the first time and that Beijing had not notified Tokyo of the fleet navigation in the East China Sea toward the Pacific Ocean.
Two MSDF destroyers Choukai and Suzunami spotted the fleet of Chinese combatant craft in the sea near the Nansei Islands about 140 kilometers west-southwest of the Okinawa main island around 8 p.m. Saturday. Those Chinese vessels conducted refueling on the sea on Sunday, according to the office.
Flight training of helicopters aboard some of the Chinese destroyers was conducted between last Wednesday and Friday in the East China Sea and one of the choppers flew some 90 meters away from the MSDF destroyer Suzunami, the office said.
Japan has made an inquiry to China through diplomatic channels about the submarine navigation and lodged a protest over the helicopter’s proximate flight, which it deems dangerous, according to the office.
Were they in Japanese waters? or just really close?
I can’t tell if they were in Japanese territorial waters or not.
Wouldn’t that be much more alarming?
Yes, have been following this very closely.
The new boldness is linked inextricably to the policies of one Mr. Barack Insane Obama, if you ask me (and many others in Japan and the Region nowadays).
Is this is sop for the Chinese Navy?
Looking at a map that looks like Japanese waters to me.
Although I also know there is a huge US military presence on Okinawa. Did the US forces notice this fleet? Did it not share that with Japan?
Barack has certainly emboldened our adversaries.
They are bolder than ever
With Obama in the White House, can you blame them? The whole world is laughing at us, with the exception of our enemies, who are too busy licking their chops.
The US Navy has also spotted several russian submarines patrolling near the east coast in recent months. Obama endangers all of us by the day.
And we know it is not just noobie White House incompetence now. We are way past that.
It is deliberate. This man is a clear and present danger to the United States of America and our allies. I wont hesitate to say that any more from now on. I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt; and he is going to get us into a WAR or a SERIES OF WARS as a result of this projection of "soft power" as they call it, amongst a world of wolves.
I had not heard that. Do you have a link?
Time for Japan to rearm.
Some of this is not open source. However, I can say that it may well have been into Japanese waters, at least briefly, as a test but more than likely they kept in international waters and are just playing cat and mouse games for the time being. They are coming increasingly close, though. It is still under investigation, i.e. as to exactly what they were doing over there on Sunday night.
Agreed. That’s the gameplan. Destroy the current system so they can pick up the pieces and rebuild it into their socialist utopia. You can’t very well have that as long as we are still a center right, capitalist country.
Who is the FReeper that keeps us up to date on Chinese naval power?
Not sure, But AmericanInTokyo is in a very good place to know.
It is deliberate. This man is a clear and present danger to the United States of America and our allies.
&&&
I agree, and I believe that it is his intent to have us taken down a peg or two to fulfill the fantasies of him and his America-hating cohort.
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