One is pressure from the US for Japan to assume a greater burden for
sealane defence and regional security, a second reason is the need for sea-based ballistic missile defence against North Korean missiles.
The
sealane in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal and is critical to Gulf oil shipments.
The main risk of such an all-consuming strategy of deterrence is that excessive investment in protecting SSBN forces would detract from broader maritime priorities such as Taiwan-related contingencies,
sealane defense, and secure access to overseas energy supplies.
After experiencing life aboard the QE2 I'd suggest the answer is tradition...a trip down a memory
sealane to a more genteel era.
The Malacca Strait, a busy
sealane with more than 50,000 commercial ships plying it annually, is also a hotbed for pirates.
There's even a smoked salmon in ice wine (
Sealane Gourmet Foods) on the market, notes Mancuso.
Closed Israel's southern
sealane. Massed Egyptian troops and armor forward in Sinai.
In the Persian Gulf and Northeast Asia, allies provide local air defense and
sealane defense for arriving forces.
Sealane Shipping handles one third of EMCO's shipments from its UK supplier in Manchester on a full container load (FCL) basis, with all shipments purchased by EMCO ex-works (EXW).
"In the future," Bush said recently, "we will need to be able to thwart aggression, repel a missile, or protect a
sealane or stop a drug lord.' To do all this, moreover, "we will need forces adaptable to conditions everywhere.
China's foreign ministry also condemns the US Navy's activities in the important
sealane as provocative acts.
This is also a chance to meet our club sponsor, Malcolm Fielding of
Sealane Inshore Ltd.
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim the whole of the South China Sea based on their historical rights on the vast
sealane. Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim some parts of the Spratly Archipelago off the South China Sea, based on the provision of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which grants 200 nautical miles to countries starting from their shores.
An independent Aceh is also not in Japan's interests as it might seek to control the gateway to the Straits of Malacca, the most critical
sealane for Japanese oil tankers.
