Free Republic

The presence of Russian submarines and spy ships near undersea cables carrying most global Internet communications has U.S. officials concerned that Russia could be planning to sever the lines in periods of conflict, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The Times said there was no evidence of cable cutting but that the concerns reflected increased wariness among U.S. and allied officials over growing Russian military activity around the world. The newspaper quoted naval commanders and intelligence officials as saying they were monitoring significantly greater Russian activity along the cables' known routes from the North Sea to Northeast Asia and...

A Russian spy ship parked in international waters off Kauai for several days has delayed a Missile Defense Agency missile test, officials said. U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor said in a statement that it “is aware of the Russian vessel operating in international waters in the vicinity of Hawaii, and will continue to track it through the duration of its time here. Through maritime patrol aircraft, surface ships and joint capabilities, we can closely monitor all vessels in the Indo-Pacific area of operations.” It was not immediately clear if the Russian vessel is broadcasting an automatic identification system, or...

In response to their recent exchange of naval attacks, which reached its height on Tuesday with a strike on an Iranian spy ship in the Red Sea, Israel is readying for a potential assault on its own assets inside Israel from Iran’s territory reports Israel Hayom. The Saviz ship which featured an Iranian flag was hit with water mines attached to its hull on Wednesday. Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack, however, foreign media outlets are reporting that the IDF’s Shayetet 13 naval commandos executed the hit, which was the most recent in a slew of operations against...

CHARLESTON, SC (WBTW) – A Russian spy ship is operating unsafely off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, according to an advisory bulletin issued by the US Coast Guard. The Coast Guard broadcast the “Marine Safety Information Bulletin” to alert mariners in the area to the Russian ship’s presence and its behavior on Sunday. “The United States Coast Guard has received reports indicating that the RFN Viktor Leonov has been operating in an unsafe manner off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia,” read the notice from the Coast Guard in Charleston. The ship was operating in international waters...

A Russian intelligence-gathering ship has been operating off the U.S. East Coast and near the Gulf of Mexico for the past month, the Pentagon said Thursday. “We are aware that the Russian ships Viktor Leonov and Nikolay Chiker are currently operating in waters that are beyond U.S. territorial seas but near Cuba,” said Lt. Col. Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman. “We respect the freedom of all nations, as reflected in international law, to operate military vessels beyond the territorial seas of other nations.” The Leonov is an intelligence gathering ship outfitted with high-tech electronic spying gear. The Chiker is...

TAIWAN'S coastguard has accused a Chinese spy ship of intruding into waters around the island before being shepherded away by Taiwanese navy vessels. The incident occurred amid growing tensions between Taiwan and China after the Chinese parliament recently passed an anti-secession law aimed at the island off the southeastern Chinese coast. “The ship sailed away after it was approached by naval and coastguard ships,'' a coastguard official told AFP. The United Daily News said the Chinese vessel, the Xue Long, was first spotted off the island on Sunday, prompting the navy to send frigates to follow it closely. Military...

N. Korean spy ship to be shown to public in Kagoshima, Tokyo KAGOSHIMA, May 1 Kyodo - A North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea in December 2001 after an exchange of fire with Japanese vessels will be exhibited in Kagoshima on May 17-18 and in Tokyo in June, the Japan Coast Guard said Thursday. The exhibits will include items found on the ship after it was raised and taken to Japan, such as some weapons, a small boat and a water scooter for landing, coast guard officials said. The exhibition in Kagoshima will be held...

KAGOSHIMA, June 27, Kyodo - The Japan Coast Guard on Thursday morning began an operation to salvage an unidentified ship which sank in the East China Sea after a shoot-out with coast guard vessels last December. The coast guard at around 8 a.m. began lowering two submersible vessels -- one manned and one unmanned -- into the water at the place where the sunken vessel lies on the seabed about 390 kilometers west-northwest of Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The unmanned submersible will survey the wreckage, which is lying at a depth of about 90 meters, to...

More bodies found near sunken ship in E. China Sea KAGOSHIMA, May 5, Kyodo - Divers have found additional bodies near a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea following a shoot-out with Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels last December, coast guard officials said Saturday. Divers recovered two weapons and what appears to be a bullet from the seabed during a search of the ship Saturday, but did not recover the bodies, they said. The coast guard began the search operation Wednesday and recovered the body of a man found near the wreckage Friday....