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| Southeast Asia |
| Singapore, Indonesia Navies In Mine-Countermeasure Exercise |
| 2005-07-19 |
| SINGAPORE, July 18 (Bernama) -- Singapore and Indonesian navies began Monday a five-day mine-countermeasure exercise, code-named Exercise Joint Minex... Two Singapore navy's mine-countermeasure vessels and two Indonesian navy's minesweepers are involved in the exercise areas off Pulau Bintan and the Singapore Strait, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. The exercise is the eighth in the series of annual mine countermeasure exercises between the two navies since 1997 which has enhanced the professionalism of -- and interoperability between -- the two navies. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #5 Any ship can be a mine sweeper...once. I know, I know. Old joke. :) |
| Posted by: Psycho Hillbilly 2005-07-19 12:53 |
| #4 Consider that a side effect of the Cold War. Mine countermeasures became the 'dish' that certain NATO countries (Germany for example) were to bring to any war. Besides it's not as glamorous as ASW. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-07-19 11:35 |
| #3 Oh, and last but not least. There is surprisingly little anti-mine capability in the world's navies. Even the US would be inclined to subcontract at ridiculous prices to a country that would minesweep an area for them, assuming their minesweepers were experienced professionals. This could make the owners of the minesweeping fleet tens of billions of dollars overnight. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-07-19 10:15 |
| #2 Actually, this is wise preparation. That region is slated to be #1 for sea mining in the next 20-30 years. It would be the cheapest way for Taiwan to protect itself, as one example. China could also use it to try and inhibit the US or Indian navies. Last but not least, it is one of the easiest to use naval weapons terrorists could use to significantly impact a nation with heavy sea trade. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-07-19 10:11 |
| #1 Great---they got the mine gig down pat. Now what about piracy, the real problem? **sounds of crickets and seabirds** |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-07-19 09:26 |