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U.S. deploys warship amid N. Korea standoff
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| Temperate |
| quote: | TOKYO - A new top-of-the-line U.S. guided missile destroyer was deployed to Japan on Saturday, amid tensions over North Korea’s missile tests.
The USS Mustin sailed into the port of Yokosuka, home to the Navy’s 7th Fleet, with a crew of 300 for permanent assignment to the region, 7th Fleet spokeswoman Hanako Tomizuka said.
The Mustin, commissioned in 2003, is one of the most advanced in the fleet. Its deployment to Yokosuka was previously planned and not in response to North Korea’s missile tests, Tomizuka said.
Pyongyang stunned the region on Wednesday by test-firing seven missiles.
In August, Yokosuka will also welcome the USS Shiloh, which last month demonstrated its ability to shoot down missile warheads in a landmark test off the coast of Hawaii.
Both the Mustin and the Shiloh are equipped with radar systems that employ so-called Aegis technology, which is geared toward tracking and shooting down enemy missiles. The system was instrumental in identifying and assessing Wednesday’s missile launc hings, which all fell apparently harmlessly into the Sea of Japan.
The U.S. Navy now has eight Aegis-equipped vessels at Yokosuka. |
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Now, I don't really understand this whole situation. For a while, it sounded like this was just N. Korea trying to get attention, and the world was telling them to shut the hell up. Now it seems we have a serious situation on our hands. Does the U.S. (Along with Japan, obviously) really think N. Korea is hell-bent on shooting a nuke? I honestly don't see any reason for them to do so, it's suicidal. |
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| NeoPhono |
| quote: | | The Mustin, commissioned in 2003, is one of the most advanced in the fleet. Its deployment to Yokosuka was previously planned and not in response to North Korea’s missile tests, Tomizuka said. |
Well, if this was already planned, I don't see why it's such a big deal. Should they have changed their deployment schedule because of North Korea? |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Temperate
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Now, I don't really understand this whole situation. For a while, it sounded like this was just N. Korea trying to get attention, and the world was telling them to shut the hell up. Now it seems we have a serious situation on our hands. Does the U.S. (Along with Japan, obviously) really think N. Korea is hell-bent on shooting a nuke? I honestly don't see any reason for them to do so, it's suicidal. |
I was reading that apparently one of their test missiles were actually aimed towards Hawaii...
Don't know if that's actually true or not, but if it is, such a gesture isn't something the U.S. (or anybody else) is going to stand for.
I can just image the Japanese are freaking out right about now too. |
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| Fir3start3r |
Appears my assumptions about the Japanese aren't too far off the mark...
| quote: |
July 10, 2006
Japan Considers Pre-Emption
North Korea may have awoken the Japanese military impulse, this time in self-defense, with its missile launches. The Chief Cabinet Secretary announced that Tokyo would rethink the common interpretation of its constitution that restricts Japanese military action to self-defense in terms of a pre-emptive strike on any missiles Pyongyang stages in the future:
Japan said Monday it was considering whether a pre-emptive strike on the North's missile bases would violate its constitution, signaling a hardening stance ahead of a possible U.N. Security Council vote on Tokyo's proposal for sanctions against the regime.
Japan was badly rattled by North Korea's missile tests last week, and several government officials openly discussed whether the country ought to take steps to better defend itself, including setting up the legal framework to allow Tokyo to launch a pre-emptive strike against Northern missile sites.
"If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack ... there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense. We need to deepen discussion," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.
Japan's constitution bars the use of military force in settling international disputes and prohibits Japan from maintaining a military for warfare. Tokyo has interpreted that to mean it can have armed troops to protect itself, allowing the existence of its 240,000-strong Self-Defense Forces.
The AP notes that Japan does not have the type of weapons which would allow it to carry out a pre-emptive strike on missiles or launch sites -- at least not yet. Abe's announcement sends a signal that Japan may consider expanding its defensive military force to meet the new threat that North Korea insists on wielding in the region, and perhaps engage in an arms race with Pyongyang that Kim Jong-Il simply cannot afford.
More signals can be gleaned from this release as well. The UN Security Council will continue meeting to determine whether to impose sanctions on Kim's regime. Japan knows that China and Russia want to stall as long as possible before allowing sanctions of any kind to be imposed on its client state. However, China fears a remilitarized Japan. The Chinese have expanded their blue-water navy to attempt to control the western Pacific and to crowd the Americans out. If Japan determines that they need a massive naval expansion to deter Pyongyang, the Chinese will have to outpace two of the world's most productive Western economies -- and they will find that very difficult to do.
Abe wants to put pressure on Beijing with this announcement, not Pyongyang. Kim is too irrational to care about Tokyo; he has his eyes fixed on Washington. Hu Jintao operates on a more rational basis, however, and he will have a choice between propping up the North Korean nutcase or losing trillions of dollars to an arms race on which he had not counted. Japan wants Jintao to understand just how expensive Kim Jong-Il will become in the next few months and years unless Beijing puts a leash on their boy. (via It Shines For All, which has its own New York Sun link.)
UPDATE: Brant at SWLiP says the sake's on him.
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>>Source<<
Note: there are a couple of links within the article; you may want to open the source link |
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| Nauru |
If Japan strikes nK then its all over.
And when I say all over, I mean... all over... the end. |
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| Q5echo |
| i pulled into Yokosuka 5 times in one year several years ago. big whoop. |
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| Nauru |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
i pulled into Yokosuka 5 times in one year several years ago. big whoop. |
Yea, from what I read its not that big a deal.
Japan already has Aegis on a couple of its DDG's so I don't see what the hooha is about. |
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| Temperate |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nauru
If Japan strikes nK then its all over.
And when I say all over, I mean... all over... the end. |
Lets say that Japan hits NK's missle sites. What else do they have?! They wouldn't last 1 month in a war with ANYBODY. Unlesss china backs them again, which I can't see happening because they love money nowadays, and we give them lots of it via trading.
EDIT: Or do you mean all over, as the NK crisis being over? |
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| Nauru |
| quote: | Originally posted by Temperate
Lets say that Japan hits NK's missle sites. What else do they have?! They wouldn't last 1 month in a war with ANYBODY. Unlesss china backs them again, which I can't see happening because they love money nowadays, and we give them lots of it via trading.
EDIT: Or do you mean all over, as the NK crisis being over? |
No, I mean if Japan expresses an offensive military force in ANY mannor, not only will nK be pissed, sK and China will be pissed. If Japan were to attack nK I would not put it past China to attack Japan... and well we all know how that would end.
Oh and nK has a very very very large conventional military force, probably two or three low yield aircraft delivarable nuclear weapons and enough BC weapons to kill million of people in sK or Japan if they wanted to. North Korea's plan for an attack on sK is a 48 hour barrage of artillery across the DMZ. I don't know if that includes BC, but I wouldn't doubt it.
At this moment Japan is looking at changing its laws to use offensive force. If need be they could go nuclear in a few months. They have enough enriched uranium and plutonium for dozens of warheads and bombs and they also have rocket systems that could be converted from space use to ICBM use in no time.
All in all this is a very very dire situation that potentially could get very ugly for everyone. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nauru
No, I mean if Japan expresses an offensive military force in ANY mannor, not only will nK be pissed, sK and China will be pissed. If Japan were to attack nK I would not put it past China to attack Japan... and well we all know how that would end. |
China wouldn't attack Japan because of North Korea, and Japan would hardly do it without China's carte blanche. The two have become extremely dependent on one another in the last decade economically.
Why is it that everyone wants the world do be destroyed? :p |
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| Nauru |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
China wouldn't attack Japan because of North Korea, and Japan would hardly do it without China's carte blanche. The two have become extremely dependent on one another in the last decade economically.
Why is it that everyone wants the world do be destroyed? :p |
I know, but Japan is still hated in most of asia outside of their economic ties.
If China could get away with it they would wipe Japan off the face of the planet.
Watch, if Japan seriously puts forth offensive military advances then all of asia will rally against them.
There was a good, but fairly biased article on Yahoo News today about Japan: http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpo...dawn_over_tokyo
Either way, Japan is going to get ed up in any conflict with nK. The north wont attack the south, at least not in any very harmful way, but Japan is fair game for the likes of NBC weapons. North Korea has thousands of tons of nerve agents and as proven in 98 and last week they have IRBM's that can easily reach almost all of Japan. |
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| Purple |
| Its kindda funny whenever N.Korea does all it can to attract attention, something even bigger happens. |
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