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$50 billion canal in Nicaragua could allow Chinese submarines to cross from the Atlantic to…
Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 13:15 EST, 19 June 2015 | James Dunn

Posted on 06/20/2015 9:27:08 PM PDT by Olog-hai

A $50 billion canal to be built by a Chinese tycoon in Nicaragua would be deep enough to allow submarines to pass through undetected.

Billionaire Wang Jing has spearheaded what is one of the biggest engineering projects in the world and is three times the size of any other canal, yet shipping forecasters don’t anticipate a need for such a route in terms of trading.

Many believe that Wang, who has not disclosed who his investors are, may be backed by the Chinese Government who hope to get a foothold in the continent where business has traditionally been dominated by the US. […]

The environmental impact could be catastrophic. The canal would cut through Lake Nicaragua, the largest fresh water body in Central America, which is an area of rich biodiversity and a vital habitat for many rare birds and fish. But the dredging that would be required to build the canal could transfer it into a “dead zone”. …

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: canal; china; chinacanal; monroedoctrine; nicaragua; nicaraguacanal; panama; panamacanal; redchina; submarines
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Full title: $50 billion canal in Nicaragua could allow Chinese submarines to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific undetected

But Fareed Zakaria said don’t fear the “rise of the rest”, so no worries.

1 posted on 06/20/2015 9:27:08 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai
on the assumption it could get past the SOSUS system that would be placed on both ends of the canal route that is
2 posted on 06/20/2015 9:30:49 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: Olog-hai

How deep would it be?


3 posted on 06/20/2015 9:31:56 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Article says 26 meters, which is 85¼ feet.


4 posted on 06/20/2015 9:43:44 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Chode

Obama would put SOSUS there?


5 posted on 06/20/2015 9:44:24 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

The U.S. Navy could but Obama probably won’t let them. It might appear too aggressive.


6 posted on 06/20/2015 9:50:59 PM PDT by BBell (Identifies as a knight who says "NI"!!!!!! I want a shrubbery!!!!!!)
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To: Olog-hai
the suckhole won't be in office when/if it's finished... we can only hope a real American will be in office by then
7 posted on 06/20/2015 9:55:45 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: Olog-hai
Article says 26 meters, which is 85¼ feet.

Is that deep enough for a submarine to go through submerged? The article says: "undetected".

Piloting a submerged sub through a canal seems like it would be a remarkable feat.

8 posted on 06/20/2015 10:41:04 PM PDT by Michael.SF. (-)
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To: Olog-hai

It would be easier to put a sub on a cargo ship and take it through that way.

If you knew that subs could cross through, you would watch both ends of the canal.


9 posted on 06/20/2015 10:48:24 PM PDT by mountainbunny (Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens ~ JR.R. Tolkien)
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To: Michael.SF.

This is ridicules, 85 foot deep? What no Locks? Me thinks these Chinese are either smoking some really good stuff or they figure we are.

As you say, it would be a fine feat to navigate such submerged only to find an unfriendly attack boat waiting at the outlet.


10 posted on 06/20/2015 11:19:10 PM PDT by X-spurt (CRUZ missile - armed and ready.)
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To: mountainbunny

Obama would?


11 posted on 06/20/2015 11:45:39 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai
I cannot think of a passageway for submarines more easily obstructed than a canal only 85 feet deep. We have technology today capable of detecting evidence of minerals by radar hundreds of feet under the ground and I cannot imagine that every movement in such a canal will be anything other than an open book.

While I deplore the loss of Panama Canal and I fear the intentions of the Chinese with respect to the Nicaraguan Canal, those fears are economic fears grounded in a fear of a mercantilist emerging superpower.


12 posted on 06/20/2015 11:47:00 PM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat, attack!" Bull Halsey)
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To: X-spurt

Would Obama send any?


13 posted on 06/20/2015 11:49:47 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: nathanbedford

The submarine thing is a red herring. That kind of a choke point would turn submarines into targets.

I see only economic benefits. If the Chinese want to spend their capital to compete with the Panama canal, it is just going to mean lower shipping costs for the entire world, and the US is going to be one of the greatest winners in the process.


14 posted on 06/21/2015 4:01:32 AM PDT by CurlyDave
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To: Olog-hai
The movement of submarines is addressed in the Law of the Sea Treaty, which China has ratified.

The only nations that haven't ratified UNCLOS are Turkey, Syria, Israel, Iran, and the US.

15 posted on 06/21/2015 4:24:38 AM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: Olog-hai

Just being covered by a few feet of water would not make them “undetected”.


16 posted on 06/21/2015 4:26:13 AM PDT by Hugin ("Do yourself a favor--first thing, get a firearm!",)
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To: Olog-hai
Obama would put SOSUS there?

He would contract it out to Chinese companies....

I finally got my OPM notif that my data may have been included in the "Chinese hack" due to the Chinese contract to manage the data. Very careful to decline responsibility and they gave me a free 18 month credit/info monitoring deal with CSID.

17 posted on 06/21/2015 4:31:31 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: Michael.SF.
Is that deep enough for a submarine to go through submerged? The article says: "undetected".

No. No rational submarine commander will submerge without having several hundred feet of water under his keel.

18 posted on 06/21/2015 4:35:58 AM PDT by Lower Deck
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To: Olog-hai
Obama would put SOSUS there?

Most if not all of SOSUS was moth-balled back in the 1990's.

19 posted on 06/21/2015 4:38:06 AM PDT by Lower Deck
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To: Olog-hai

This sounds like BS to me.


20 posted on 06/21/2015 4:42:38 AM PDT by McGruff (It's gonna get ugly round here.)
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