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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025
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  Posted:
Nov 11, 2004 - 11:47 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Japanese Maritime Forces on Alert as Suspected Chinese sub.. |
One for Edgy. I guess he will definitely cum in his pants.
Japanese Maritime Forces on Alert as Suspected Chinese Nuclear Submarine Breaches Territorial Waters
Sonar Contact
For the second consecutive day, Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Forces (MSDF) have been tracking a submerged contact allegedly 'zig-zagging' in and out of Japanese territorial waters near the Sakishima Archipelago, some 400km south-west of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture.
The timeline of events leading up to the submarine's detection and monitoring is as follows (all times local):
(Wednesday 10 November) - 17:00 hours: MSDF patrol aircraft spot the submarine just outside Japanese territorial waters, with the crew later confirming that the vessel crossed the maritime boundary.
Under rules governing maritime patrol orders, MSDF sea- and aircraft are allowed to request that submarines surface in order to identify themselves. Failure to comply can result in a verbal order to withdraw from territorial waters.
The suspected Chinese sub did not respond to MSDF communications and continued manoeuvring within Japanese waters for about an hour, after which it departed, with the Japanese patrol craft continuing to monitor its movements.
(Thursday 11 November) - 08:00 hours: Prime Minister Koizumi is informed of the intruding vessel, which is - for now - in Chinese waters.
08:45 hours: Koizumi gives the go-ahead for Japan Defence Agency (JDA) Director-General Yoshinori Ono to deploy MSDF resources - including a P-3C anti-submarine aircraft - to track the intruding submarine and attempt to ensure that it stays out of Japanese waters.
At a press conference later in the afternoon, Koizumi issued an anodyne statement, saying, 'It's regrettable. It's not good that a submarine of unknown nationality entered our country's territorial waters.'
Mystery Sub
According to a spokesman from the JDA, two MSDF destroyers and a P-3C anti-submarine aircraft are trailing the submarine, whose propeller noise patterns suggest that it is a Chinese 'Han'-class attack sub (see box above right). So far, however, neither the Japanese nor Chinese government have commented on the vessel's nationality, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry denying all knowledge of the incident, saying, 'We don't know. We are not aware of this situation.'
The article goes on and on babling about this and other incidents...not important.
Anyway...the Han (haha I love this name) class sub:
China's 'Han'-class Submarines
The first 'Han'-class vessel entered service in 1974, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy currently has five such submarines as part of the North Sea Fleet HQ at Qingdao. With a fully loaded displacement of 5,000 tons, this class is armed with six 533mm torpedo tubes.
For the most part, the 'Han'-class subs have never sailed beyond Chinese regional waters, and have only operated for short spells in coastal waters. Intelligence analysts believe that the vessels are quite noisy, and thus vulnerable to detection by even moderate anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.
This current episode is not the first time that 'Han'-class vessels have been involved in encounters with foreign navies.
In October 1994, a 'Han'-class sub was detected shadowing the US Navy's USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier battle group 100km west of Kyushu, Japan. The Kitty Hawk monitored the sub for several days via an S-3B 'Viking' ASW aircraft, which was subsequently 'intercepted' by a flight of Chinese Shenyang J-6 fighter aircraft. No communications were exchanged, and the 'Han'-class sub came no closer than 30km from the US aircraft carrier over the course of the three-day encounter.
Oh. Looks like the days we are welcome here are soon to be over. For some these days never existed, I know. |
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BaDaXianRen
Low Seater
Joined: July 11, 2004
Posts: 3298
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Nov 12, 2004 - 02:02 AM |
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I didnt see it mentioned in this article but
1. the sub is making way under here own power on the surface, but her course is highly erratic
2. there is 1 chinese submarine towing ship and 1 chinese submarine repair ship which have shown up in satelite pics moving towards an rendezvous position
3. It is potentially a nuclear sub. |
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Caesara
Post Roaster
Joined: July 31, 2004
Posts: 4572
Location: The Middle Kingdom (Shanghai)
Status: Offline
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Nov 12, 2004 - 09:21 AM |
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The fact that it's potentially a boomer is not making me happy. But stuff like this happens all the time and gets sorted.
Perhaps someone should just say, "Ooopsie. We bwoke owr submawine. If we pwomise to be vewwy vewwy good, can we pwease just go home and fix it?" |
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BaDaXianRen
Low Seater
Joined: July 11, 2004
Posts: 3298
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Nov 13, 2004 - 07:02 AM |
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Dont know if it is a boomer or not, but the story I read made the point that is was potentially nuclear powered, meaning that it could be a potential ecological disaster. |
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lawdude
Moderator
Joined: Sep 20, 2002
Posts: 687
Location: No longer in Shanghai, PRC
Status: Offline
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Nov 14, 2004 - 06:25 AM |
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The Han class submarine of the PLA Navy is a nuclear-powered attack submarine (not a "boomer" or ballistic-missile sub), designed to intercept and attack other naval vessels. It was, as I recall, the first nuclear-powered sub class put into service here.
Unfortunately, the Hans have a reputation as being exceptionally noisy (not a good attribute for an attack boat--anything that can be heard over the noise of an aircraft carrier has got to be really loud) and having a reactor/cooling system that reportedly makes the sub more a threat to its own crew (and the environment) than to the enemy.
Didn't see the story BDXR is referring to, but if the sub had to be towed... given what I've heard about the powerplant of the Han-class subs, I'd be worried about radiation leaks. |
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Edgewood
FooSlinger
Joined: Jan 28, 2004
Posts: 3906
Location: Colonial Shanghai
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Nov 14, 2004 - 09:06 AM |
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Yet if the Japanese had sunk the crate, in Japanese waters, after the Chinese were denying ownership, somehow CCTV would have reported it as "Japanese Aggression".
It's sooo unfair. |
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Conlige suspectos semper habitos |
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