Spy sub had China target

Gestart door Lex, 16/06/2012 | 19:12 uur

Marc66

Welkom in de omgekeerde wereld. Tegenwoordig is de stichter niet verkeerd, maar diegene die er op reageert, dusssssss....., nogmaals wie provoceert nu wie?

Lynxian

Citaat van: Marc66 op 16/06/2012 | 20:04 uur
Wie provoceert er nu?  :confused:
Ligt aan je perspectief. Een grote mond en bedreigende houding tegen ieder buurtland in de streek kan ook als provocatie worden gezien.

Marc66


Lex

A WA submarine was spying on Chinese war vessels at the time of a high-profile accident that saw five sailors washed overboard.

In revelations set to cause fresh tensions between Canberra and Beijing, The Sunday Times has learnt that HMAS Farncomb was "keeping an eye on the Chinese submarine fleet", including activities such as decoding communications systems, when fishing line tangled in its propeller in March 2007.

Sources said Farncomb - which is based at Perth's HMAS Stirling base - had to wait for the cover of night before surfacing for repairs because it was in a "strategically sensitive" area.

The claims are the latest to shake Australian-Chinese relations after details emerged that the Rudd Government's 2009 defence planning reportedly canvassed a scenario of war with China where Australian submarines would help US forces blockade China's trade routes.

Farncomb's accident was made public only in 2009 when the Royal Australian Navy announced bravery medals would be awarded to three crew members who rescued the five swept off the top of the surfaced submarine on March 19, 2007, while trying to repair the propeller.

Focusing on the sailors' heroism, media reports said the Farncomb was in international waters on a spy mission as part of a five-month deployment in South-East Asia, including Thailand, and the western Pacific .

But well-placed naval sources told The Sunday Times: "They were keeping an eye on the Chinese submarine fleet. They were decoding communications systems.

"They were determining capabilities (of Chinese submarines). (The area) was so strategically sensitive that they couldn't surface the boat in the middle of the day.

"It had to secretly surface in the night and risk people's (crew members') lives because where they were, they couldn't risk making noise."

The sources said a "massive Chinese submarine base" at Hainan Island in the South China Sea had become a major concern for Australian and US forces, and that a reason Australia was important to the US-Australian alliance was because of its submarine activities.

Responding to the spying claims and questions about other Australian covert missions regarding China, a Department of Defence spokeswoman said: "The Chief of Navy has made it clear that we do not talk about submarine operations for reasons of national security."

Notre Dame University political analyst Martin Drum said the issue would raise more questions for Defence Minister Stephen Smith about the extent of spying activities against China and create further tensions between the two countries.sAustralia and China at a time when Chinese investment in Australia had become a "significant political issue".

From:The Sunday Times
June 16, 2012 5:00PM