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Chinese salvage ship caught red-handed looting battleship wrecks

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A Chinese ship has been caught red-handed trying to quietly loot the war graves of 840 men, ripping up World War II-era wrecks.

A Chinese salvage ship has been caught red-handed looting the war graves of 840 men, ripping up the World War II wrecks of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse for high-quality steel.

Malaysian media and maritime open-source intelligence analysts last week located a dredger sitting illegally over the designated war grave of the two British warships sunk by Japanese bombers in December 1941.

Royal Malaysian Police on Friday reportedly uncovered live ammunition, two British 5.25-inch anti-aircraft cannons, a ship’s anchor and sections of hull at a jetty in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

So far, there are no reports of human remains among the debris.

HMS Prince of Wales was a modern 35,000-tonne warship lined with 14.7-inch (370mm) thick armour plate. HMS Repulse was a much older 27,600-tonne battlecruiser, protected by thinner 6-inch (152mm) belt armour.

But the steel used in the era’s warships was of exceptionally high quality and represents a quick and easy source of scrap to be smelted into new products.

The salvage ship Chuan 68, which belongs to the Chinese firm Fujian Ya Rui Marine, has been observed operating in Malaysian waters since early this year.

Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory and it regularly ignores the national exclusive economic zones allocated to Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia under international law.

1688695752653.png

Purportedly an image of the Chinese salvage ship. Picture: Twitter/hfnz9

Token effort

The British warships were the core of Force Z, a token presence sent to Singapore in November 1941 by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to deter Japan’s increasing hostility.

The modern battleship and obsolete battlecruiser put to sea the day after the surprise attack on the US Navy’s battleships at Pearl Harbor, accompanied by a small group of destroyers including Australia’s HMAS Vampire.

The ships moved into the South China Sea to intercept Japanese invasion forces even as US Army Air Force fighters and bombers were being destroyed on the ground at their Philippines airfields.

A shocked and surprised US General Douglas MacArthur locked himself in his penthouse at the Manila Hotel.

After failing to find the Japanese for a desired night battle, Force Z turned back towards Singapore to avoid anticipated air attack. But neither the US nor Britain was aware at this time that Japan possessed torpedo bombers capable of delivering their weapons over much greater distances than their German or Italian allies.

Both ships eventually succumbed to sustained attacks. HMS Prince of Wales lost 327 of its 1612 crew. HMS Repulse lost 513 of 1309.

Shortly after, British, Australian and Indian defensive lines in Malaysia collapsed, leading to the surrender of Singapore – Britain’s main Far East Outpost. Some 130,000 Allied soldiers were taken prisoner.

Lost to history

The current condition of the British wrecks remains unknown. A formal public complaint has been issued to the Malaysian government’s National Heritage Department.

But it’s not the first time the Chinese-registered salvage ship has been caught looting war graves.

The Chuan 68 and its crew were temporarily detained in 2017 amid allegations it had removed three Japanese World War II wrecks near Usukan, Malaysia.


And the Indonesian navy had reportedly intercepted the ship in April of the same year while it was scavenging a shipwreck near the Anambas Islands. It allegedly fled to international waters.

The wrecks of the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth and the US heavy cruiser USS Houston – both lost in the weeks after the fall of Singapore – have also been targeted. And two Dutch warships sunk days earlier have entirely disappeared.

Indonesia’s Jakarta Post reported at the time that Chinese authorities claimed the Chuan Hong 68 had been chartered by a Malaysian firm. “It has been engaged in offshore engineering in the waters specified by the Malaysian side according to the contract,” it quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying.

Indonesian authorities say illegal salvage operations have become common in Indonesian waters, with foreign and domestic scrap firms seeking an easy profit.

Bronze propellers are a particularly valuable. As are copper boilers. But steel smelted before the atomic bomb tests of the 1940s is highly prised for advanced scientific measuring equipment due to the lack of even minute traces of interfering radioactive materials.
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?te...s/news-story/169b13b741a4842edaaad2727e90d37d

Disgusting Chinese, what a disgrace of a country.
 
A Chinese ship has been caught red-handed trying to quietly loot the war graves of 840 men, ripping up World War II-era wrecks.

A Chinese salvage ship has been caught red-handed looting the war graves of 840 men, ripping up the World War II wrecks of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse for high-quality steel.

Malaysian media and maritime open-source intelligence analysts last week located a dredger sitting illegally over the designated war grave of the two British warships sunk by Japanese bombers in December 1941.

Royal Malaysian Police on Friday reportedly uncovered live ammunition, two British 5.25-inch anti-aircraft cannons, a ship’s anchor and sections of hull at a jetty in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

So far, there are no reports of human remains among the debris.

HMS Prince of Wales was a modern 35,000-tonne warship lined with 14.7-inch (370mm) thick armour plate. HMS Repulse was a much older 27,600-tonne battlecruiser, protected by thinner 6-inch (152mm) belt armour.

But the steel used in the era’s warships was of exceptionally high quality and represents a quick and easy source of scrap to be smelted into new products.

The salvage ship Chuan 68, which belongs to the Chinese firm Fujian Ya Rui Marine, has been observed operating in Malaysian waters since early this year.

Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory and it regularly ignores the national exclusive economic zones allocated to Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia under international law.

View attachment 937387
Purportedly an image of the Chinese salvage ship. Picture: Twitter/hfnz9

Token effort

The British warships were the core of Force Z, a token presence sent to Singapore in November 1941 by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to deter Japan’s increasing hostility.

The modern battleship and obsolete battlecruiser put to sea the day after the surprise attack on the US Navy’s battleships at Pearl Harbor, accompanied by a small group of destroyers including Australia’s HMAS Vampire.

The ships moved into the South China Sea to intercept Japanese invasion forces even as US Army Air Force fighters and bombers were being destroyed on the ground at their Philippines airfields.

A shocked and surprised US General Douglas MacArthur locked himself in his penthouse at the Manila Hotel.

After failing to find the Japanese for a desired night battle, Force Z turned back towards Singapore to avoid anticipated air attack. But neither the US nor Britain was aware at this time that Japan possessed torpedo bombers capable of delivering their weapons over much greater distances than their German or Italian allies.

Both ships eventually succumbed to sustained attacks. HMS Prince of Wales lost 327 of its 1612 crew. HMS Repulse lost 513 of 1309.

Shortly after, British, Australian and Indian defensive lines in Malaysia collapsed, leading to the surrender of Singapore – Britain’s main Far East Outpost. Some 130,000 Allied soldiers were taken prisoner.

Lost to history

The current condition of the British wrecks remains unknown. A formal public complaint has been issued to the Malaysian government’s National Heritage Department.

But it’s not the first time the Chinese-registered salvage ship has been caught looting war graves.

The Chuan 68 and its crew were temporarily detained in 2017 amid allegations it had removed three Japanese World War II wrecks near Usukan, Malaysia.


And the Indonesian navy had reportedly intercepted the ship in April of the same year while it was scavenging a shipwreck near the Anambas Islands. It allegedly fled to international waters.

The wrecks of the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth and the US heavy cruiser USS Houston – both lost in the weeks after the fall of Singapore – have also been targeted. And two Dutch warships sunk days earlier have entirely disappeared.

Indonesia’s Jakarta Post reported at the time that Chinese authorities claimed the Chuan Hong 68 had been chartered by a Malaysian firm. “It has been engaged in offshore engineering in the waters specified by the Malaysian side according to the contract,” it quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying.

Indonesian authorities say illegal salvage operations have become common in Indonesian waters, with foreign and domestic scrap firms seeking an easy profit.

Bronze propellers are a particularly valuable. As are copper boilers. But steel smelted before the atomic bomb tests of the 1940s is highly prised for advanced scientific measuring equipment due to the lack of even minute traces of interfering radioactive materials.
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Chinese+salvage+ship+caught+looting+from+war+graves,+ship+wreckages+in+Malaysia&via=newscomauHQ&url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/chinese-salvage-ship-caught-redhanded-looting-battleship-wrecks/news-story/169b13b741a4842edaaad2727e90d37d

Disgusting Chinese, what a disgrace of a country.
So some people are not so smart. :disagree:

First, the only link to China this salvage ship is that it was registered in Fujian, China.

Second, the salvage occurred in undisputed Malaysian waters.

Third, the scrap were unloaded in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

And forth, if you know how to read, it says the salvage ship was leased to a Malaysian company.

But I do not blame you. The more you read Western source media, the dumber you get.:rofl:
 
o typical of china, from IP to now this. legacy is going on
 
Chinese know no shame.

Recycling garbage.

I should give the salvage ship crews a reward for cleaning the ocean from garbage.

The owner of the ship thrown garbage to other people home, and it's China who is clean it up and recycling it to save the earth.

So some people are not so smart. :disagree:

First, the only link to China this salvage ship is that it was registered in Fujian, China.

Second, the salvage occurred in undisputed Malaysian waters.

Third, the scrap were unloaded in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

And forth, if you know how to read, it says the salvage ship was leased to a Malaysian company.

But I do not blame you. The more you read Western source media, the dumber you get.:rofl:

You forget to mention that the salvage ship is using USA tech inside it.

And there's Indian descendent as a crew in the ship.

So basically, it's USA and India fault.

China is just being slandered just because the ship is owned by Chinese.


Propaganda at best!
 
Recycling garbage.

I should give the salvage ship crews a reward for cleaning the ocean from garbage.

The owner of the ship thrown garbage to other people home, and it's China who is clean it up and recycling it to save the earth.



You forget to mention that the salvage ship is using USA tech inside it.

And there's Indian descendent as a crew in the ship.

So basically, it's USA and India fault.

China is just being slandered just because the ship is owned by Chinese.


Propaganda at best!
Luckily the sand bag that Biden trip and fell down was not made in China.

It would have started WW3.


Made in China Sandbag.jpg
 
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Recycling garbage.

I should give the salvage ship crews a reward for cleaning the ocean from garbage.

The owner of the ship thrown garbage to other people home, and it's China who is clean it up and recycling it to save the earth.



You forget to mention that the salvage ship is using USA tech inside it.

And there's Indian descendent as a crew in the ship.

So basically, it's USA and India fault.

China is just being slandered just because the ship is owned by Chinese.


Propaganda at best!
First of all, all Naval Wreck are designated grave site, what these people were doing is more or less trying to grave dig, or at least dance on top of someone grave. Not to mention this is illegal under Admiralty law. Only the company who own the right to salvage can salvage a ship wreck.

Second, the flag of convenience is based on the port registration. So if the ship is registered in China, by law the captain of the ship is also Chinese, otherwise you can't fly a Chinese flag on that ship, which means the ship lies in Chinese authority (Because Chinese law govern that captain, and that captain govern the ship).

I would have to say this is probably more about a single man (or company) greed
 
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First of all, all Naval Wreck are designated grave site, what these people were doing is more or less trying to grave dig, or at least dance on top of someone grave. Not to mention this is illegal under Admiralty law. Only the company who own the right to salvage can salvage a ship wreck.

Second, the flag of convenience is based on the port registration. So if the ship is registered in China, by law the captain of the ship is also Chinese, otherwise you can't fly a Chinese flag on that ship, which means the ship lies in Chinese authority (Because Chinese law govern that captain, and that captain govern the ship).

I would have to say this is probably more about a single man (or company) greed
Stupid. The ship could have been commissioned by any company or anyone. It's a privately-owned ship. Only trolls tried to raise this crime to a national level. This is a world of difference comparing to Austrailian and American soldiers committing war crimes in Afghanistan. BTW, they are soldiers identified with nations. Worse, these two nations refused to let an international war crime court prosecute their soldiers committing war crimes in another country.
 
Stupid. The ship could have been commissioned by any company or anyone. It's a privately-owned ship. Only trolls tried to raise this crime to a national level. This is a world of difference comparing to Austrailian and American soldiers committing war crimes in Afghanistan. BTW, they are soldiers identified with nations. Worse, these two nations refused to let an international war crime court prosecute their soldiers committing war crimes in another country.
Maybe study some Admiralty law before calling people stupid?

First of all, whoever commissioned that ship does not alter the fact that THIS IS A CHINESE FLAGGED SHIP. The Skipper have to be a willing participant in this act of "Stealing" It's his ship, whoever hire him and his ship does not put a gun to his head and say "Go out to this coord and salvage that wreck illegally" So while the company behind it may also have problem, the skipper and his ship is a "Co-conspirator" in this. Which mean they, ALONG WITH THE COMPANY WHO HIRE THEM, has broken the same law.

Second. Those are NOT SOLDIER, those are SAILOR, and it didn't matter whether or not they are military wreck, ALL HISTORICAL shipwreck are covered by Admiralty Law by their respective country, in Australia, that was governed by "Historical Shipwreck Act 1976"


In this UK, which is what these two ship belong to, it's Protection of Wreck Act 1973


And finally, what have ICJ have anything to do with this? This is UNCLOS and Admiralty Law. It's a different aspect of the law. Admiralty law was dealt with by ITLOS

 
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You couldn't distinguish the difference between an individual's act of crime and a nation's violation of humanity, could you? In that salvaged ship's case, it's an individual, regardless of the citizenship he's had. In Australia's case, it's a blatant violation of humanity by the shameful Australia because the soldiers were Australian national troops and Australia harbored their crimes. I don't need to cite wikipedia to dispute you.
 

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