Posted on 03/10/2009 5:58:48 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2009 – The United States will continue to sail ships on missions in international waters, a Defense Department official said here today.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the March 8 incident in the South China Sea in which five Chinese ships surrounded the USNS Impeccable -- an unarmed Military Sealift Command vessel – won’t hinder the United States from using international sea lanes.
The United States protested the Chinese activity to China’s foreign ministry in Beijing and to the defense attache at the Chinese Embassy here. China rejected the U.S. protests today, and maintains the Impeccable violated international law by sailing in the area.
The ship is an ocean surveillance vessel and was mapping the sea bottom when the Chinese ships approached. The Chinese ships included a Chinese navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries patrol vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers.
Two ships approached within 50 feet of the Impeccable before the American civilian crew used fire hoses to challenge them. One of the Chinese ships approached within 25 feet of the American ship. Two Chinese trawlers then stopped directly in front of the Impeccable as it attempted to leave the area.
The Chinese allege the American ship was operating illegally in China’s Economic Exclusion Zone. China claims a 125-mile zone.
“Our activities were in international waters, and we will continue to operate in international waters as appropriate,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday. “Our ships obviously operate fairly regularly in international waters where these incidents took place. We're going to continue to operate in those international waters, and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around them.”
The area is about 70 miles south of Hainan Island. In 2001, two Chinese fighter aircraft challenged a U.S. Navy EP-3 patrol plane in the area. There was a collision between one of the Chinese fighters and the P-3, killing the Chinese pilot. The P-3 made an emergency landing on Hainan Island, and the Chinese detained the 24-member crew of the American patrol plane for 12 days.
LOL Kinda restrictive if we didn’t.
I remember how President Reagan responded to Liyba’s “Line of Death.” He made a very loud statement about our right to sail in any international water we want. He didn’t need to launch complaints through the State Department.
WOW! Such strength being shown by the Bama! Who knew the 0ne was so strong?
I for one am deeply relieved...FMCDH(BITS)
SARATOGA’s 18th deployment was anything but ordinary. After departing Mayport in August 1985, SARATOGA steamed toward the Mediterranean for what was scheduled to be a routine deployment. But on 10 October, SARATOGA was called into action.
Arab terrorists had found and struck an Italian luxury liner, ACHILLE LAURO. The ship had just departed Alexandria, Egypt, on a pleasure cruise of the Mediterranean. A few hours later, terrorists from the Palestinian Liberation Front hijacked the ship. After tense negotiations and the killing of an American tourist, the hijackers traveled in a battered tugboat to the city of Port Said, Egypt, after ACHILLE LAURO anchored just off the coast. Egyptian authorities made hasty arrangements for the terrorists to depart the country. They boarded an Egypt Air 737 jet at the Al Maza Air Base, northeast of Cairo.
On orders from President Ronald Reagan, seven F-14 Tomcats from the VF-74 “Bedevilers” and VF-103 “Sluggers” were launched from SARATOGA. Supporting the Tomcats continuously were VA-85 KA-6D air tankers and VAW-125 E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. Off the coast of Crete, the F-14s, without the use of running lights, eased up beside and behind the airliner. On command, the Tomcats turned on their lights and dipped their wings - an international signal for a forced landing. The E-2C Hawkeye radioed the airliner to follow the F-14s. Realizing they were in a “no-win” situation, the hijackers allowed the pilot to follow the Tomcats to Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Italy.
One hour and 15 minutes later, the jet landed and the hijackers were taken into custody. Seven hours after the fighter jets were scrambled, all SARATOGA aircraft returned home without a shot fired.
On 23 March 1986, while operating off coast of Libya, aircraft from the SARATOGA, USS CORAL SEA (CV 43) and USS AMERICA (CV 66) crossed what Libyan strongman Mohammar Khadafi had called the “Line of Death.” The very next day at noon, three U.S. Navy warships crossed the same 32° 30’ navigational line.
Two hours later, Libyan forces fired SA-5 surface-to-air missiles from the coastal town of Surt. The missiles missed their F-14 Tomcat targets and fell harmlessly into the water. Later that afternoon, U.S. aircraft turned back two Libyan MiG-25 fighter planes over the disputed Gulf of Sidra. Soon after, aircraft from the three carriers fought back in defense.
A heavily-armed A-6E Intruder fired Rockeye cluster bombs and a Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile at a Libyan missile patrol boat operating on the “Line of Death.” Later that night, two A-7E Corsair II jets attacked a key radar installation at Surt. At the conclusion, three Libyan patrol boats and a radar site were destroyed by Navy aircraft.
God Bless America! God Bless our Troops!
When the big, fat stinking Zero finds out that DoD officials are acting like men ... you can be sure he’ll put an end to that nonsense.
Time we stopped sending unarmed ships and aircraft around China without warships and fighters.
Glad to hear that this is their response. I was told by some other poster that this was going to result in an apology by Obama to the Chinese... Now, that would have been something to gripe about, for sure...
**Time we stopped sending unarmed ships and aircraft around China without warships and fighters.***
Remember the PUEBLO in 1968? Armed yet captured by the North Koreans without firing a shot.
Won’t see any action like that again for awhile until we get rid of this SH that’s in the WH now.
I miss the Gipper!
Yeah, we do too.
We contribute throughout the year to the Library, and make the trek minimum once a year to pay our respects. We sometimes make the trek twice in a year, but the trek makes for one “H” of a long and tiring day. Eight to nine hours of driving (traffic on the return trip is the problem) for four hours of visit, and lunch.
We can’t stay overnight. Too much to take care of back at the ranch. It’s just me ‘n ma.
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