A STANDOFF between Japanese whalers and environmentalists has escalated with a conservation group claiming the Japanese Government has sent a warship to Antarctic waters to protect its fleet. The Washington-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said it had received a tip-off that a Japanese naval ship had been sent to the region to defend its whalers from protesters. It said it was concerned the warship would try to seize its vessel and those of the two Greenpeace crews shadowing the fleet through the Southern Ocean. "The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research has made an open accusation of piracy and eco-terrorism against...