Posted on 05/26/2023 8:14:03 AM PDT by Red Badger
A Chinese salvage ship has been caught looting British World War II shipwrecks near the Malaysian coast.
The vessel, a dredger named Chuan Hong 68, was seen lurking near the shipwrecks of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and cruiser HMS Repulse, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
Imperial Japanese forces destroyed both ships in December 1941, resulting in the loss of 842 British sailors — a significant setback for the Royal Navy in the Far East.
The sites of the shipwrecks are officially designated war graves, according to a statement from the Royal Navy National Museum.
Chuan Hong 68’s activities were first noticed by Malaysian media and “open-source intelligence analysts” last week, News.com.au reported.
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According to the U.S. Naval Institute, a private nonprofit military association, local reports indicated that Chuan Hong 68 was using a large dredging crane to lift metal scraps from the shipwrecks.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were built with high-quality steel, according to reports. As such, the wrecks are a lucrative source of scraps that can be smelted and reused.
According to News.com.au, police discovered live ammunition, British anti-aircraft cannons, an anchor and pieces of a ship’s hull at a jetty in Malaysia.
Chuan Hong 68’s crew has a reputation for being a group of “illegal scavengers,” the Mail reported.
Speaking to the Malaysian outlet the New Straits Times, a source said that the vessel has been looting shipwrecks for about 10 years.
“Ten years ago, it resembled a dilapidated barge. But it is now fitted with high-technology equipment,” the source said of the ship.
“They operate mechanically and entirely from the surface of the barge, which is equipped with cranes sporting huge metal claws,” the source said, adding that “the claws can plunge more than [200 meters] deep. It chops up the ship and pulls up [100] tonnes of metal in one go.”
The crew reportedly consists of well-paid Chinese, Nepalese, Malaysian and Bangladeshi nationals.
The Times reported that Chuan Hong 68 has engaged in illegal scavenging of World War II shipwrecks off the coasts of Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam and is wanted by authorities in Indonesia.
Adm. Lord Alan West, former head of the Royal Navy, called the scavenging operation an “absolute disgrace,” according to the Mail.
“These are burial sites with all the bodies still there. These Chinese wreckers or scrap metal men don’t give a damn about this,” he said.
“It’s a loathsome thing to do. It’s very distressing for the families and next of kin of those sailors killed on HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales.”
True enough - but the US was not the world power it became later and the American people could not see that aggression in China could affect the US and the American people were still reeling from the expense and combat losses of the First World War.
Despite this - and we were a representative government - we nonetheless came to the support of China, despite the enormous distances, rugged and trackless terrain, the absolute lack of fuel, munitions, electricity, modern engineering equipment or an educated workforce, and many other large problems dealing with China and its various governments. We overcame all of that to build the infrastructure needed to support the air campaign against Japan and support Chinese combat operations in China - all while fighting a desperate and bloody war across the Pacific against Japan.
Anyone discussing the US role in China before and during WWII and then listening to you would think that you're just a mouthpiece for revisionist Chinese propaganda - right?
This wasn’t even technology. It was stealing answers to exams (Maybe that’s a sort of technology.) The Americans for the most part were playing by the rules, and the cheating Asians were riding roughshod over them.
I have several Chinese friends, but they and their parents were born in America, and I do see any of that mindset in them.
The Americanized ones are not the old country ones.................
“I do see any of that mindset in them.”
I mean, “I DON’T see any of that mindset in them.” DON’T.
I knew what you meant.....
Notice that Xi is now calling upon Chinese expatriates all over the world to help the ‘home country’.
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel..............
“Xi is now calling upon Chinese expatriates all over the world to help the ‘home country’.”
Even beyond calling upon the ex-pats, there are actual Chinese Police stations in the USA with the sole purpose of keeping track of the people, intimidating them, threatening families back in China, etc. And WE LET THEM OPERATE!!!
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LETS THEM OPERATE.
They have him by the balls.................
Yes.
I read somewhere that someone, maybe the same gang, did this to the Exeter, one of the cruisers sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea.
Ironic that the two main countries we fought for in WWII, China and Russia are now our enemies.
Even more ironic is the two ships didn’t have air cover because the Hurricanes that were supposed to go to Singapore were sent to the Soviet Union instead.
It did nothing effective following the Mukden incident and the conquest of Manchuria.
Neither did your goodbuddies Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union, who were right next door and more interests there than we did.
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