You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Afghanistan/South Asia
Alert along coast of Western India for North Korean arms ship
2005-07-25
Naval Intelligence has sent a ‘‘classified and specific alert’’ to Customs officials to be on the lookout for a North Korean ship that is carrying arms and ammunition and heading towards India. The alert also said that the ship is likely to drop its consignment somewhere along the western coast.
Moved to 7/25, as this is sure to be of interest to all of us. AoS.
Posted by:john

#35  Obvious solution,

Broadcast position to the pirates in indonesia. "Tasty NKOR Ship abouts"

Once seized, sinking pirates is all fair games...
Posted by: flash91   2005-07-25 19:08  

#34  :)
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 19:01  

#33  Thanks, .com. There are days when I really miss Japan...
Posted by: Pappy   2005-07-25 18:49  

#32  Not knowing the first thing about Indian Intelligence matters.... (so?) One asset India has is semi-similar to the Zionist Entitys'. To wit a hell of a lot of worldly merchants all over the place, even in Japan, Korea Taiwan Minneapolis, etc.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-07-25 15:16  

#31  Sorry, Pappy... (NSFW)
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 12:59  

#30  I agree that the US has the best intel assets and India likely got their info from outside sources.

It's the myopic view that India has no intelligence capability of its own that pissed me off.

As for who the intended users are, I'd sumrise that, given the coast it's supposedly headed for, it's likely Muslim. Still, I wouldn't rule out maoists or Tamils.

Oh, .com, that's SFW: it wouldn't load... :D
Posted by: Pappy   2005-07-25 12:53  

#29  Interesting about the Yemeni bound boat. The raid was conducted by Spanish commando's on a tip from India. No wonder Saeh got to keep his Scuds.
Posted by: Rightwing   2005-07-25 12:48  

#28  Pappy - I would assume we tracked that boat long before the Indians knew about it - they surely don't want it landing, but we, the SK's and teh Japanese have first dibs on teh concerns about shipping leaving NK. That's not bigotry, racism, or anything other than noting India prolly has few assets in the Korean vicinity, no?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-25 11:05  

#27  "Torpedoes....LOS!"
-- Das Boot
Posted by: mojo   2005-07-25 10:32  

#26  However, I'm wondering who in Western India has the bucks and connections to order arms from NorkLand.

Western India? You sure they don't mean Pakistan? Kashmir is landlocked, AFAICR, so that's out.

Maybe the NorKs are trying to fund yet another Muslim separatist group?
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-07-25 08:04  

#25  while India has its own satellites, its image analysts probably don't monitor the North Korean ports regularly. This information is almost certainly from a friendly government - the USA, Japan, South Korea, Russia.
US Pacific Command has links with the Indian Navy.

It was on a tip off from the US that India seized a North Korean freighter laden with missile parts in 2003.
Posted by: john   2005-07-25 07:39  

#24  #12

I don't think any disinformation would work on Bush - he gives a rat's ass for false positives (or is it true negatives?). He will act without over-wrought analysis and hand-wringing. He will do a London Policeman on them and then see what is in the hold.
Posted by: Douglas MacArthur   2005-07-25 05:23  

#23  Maybe the Maoists with their Greater Maoland Plan for Northern India/Nepal/Bangladesh are looking for more firepower. They have been doing bank robberies, kidnappings, and drug smuggling, so they would have the funds. And NoKors are desparate for hard currency, and have piles of old ComBlock weapons laying about. A few thousand AKs, RPGs, RPKs, and ammo would come in handy for the Maoists right about now.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2005-07-25 03:57  

#22  smn, what is it with the Left and their myopic parochialism. I know this may come as a shock, but other countries do have intelligence and customs services.

If the report is genuine the Indians won't hesitate to intercept on the high seas. However, I'm wondering who in Western India has the bucks and connections to order arms from NorkLand.

BTW, India has its own satellites and also buys data from the Russians.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-07-25 03:18  

#21  Uh, I'm blaming it on being distracted, and, um, stuff... Yeah, that's my excuse, heh. Proof one should not try to surf and blog at the same time.

NSFW.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 03:13  

#20  Ah, I misunderstood what you were so righteously pissed about. I re-read everything and still didn't cotton to exactly what ticked you off - so I posted again - sorry I missed your point. *whew!*
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 03:08  

#19  .com, no argument here with your proposed campaign. In fact, it'd be a nice little 'courtesy'.

What chafes me is the meme that the Indians couldn't have possibly come up with this intel on their own. Bullshit. What an absolutely bigoted and asinine assessment.

They've already been through this once, and paid for it when the alert wasn't taken seriously. They might not want to sink the bastards, but they sure as hell want to stop the arms from making landfall.
Posted by: Pappy   2005-07-25 03:04  

#18  Pappy, come on!! We all know that the real "Eyes In The Sky" in this matter is the US! The Indians don't cry uncle unless 'Sam' has a say about it! The alert may be by India, but the "Buck Stops Here"!!!
Posted by: smn   2005-07-25 02:37  

#17  I RTFA before commenting - and my comment stands.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 02:25  

#16  We had to let it go because the buyers insisted

It was Yemen.

Someone 'leaks' to US intelligence that a rogue NorK ship is out there stuffed full of arms -n- ammo.

Sigh.

For the second time, this was not U.S. Naval Intelligence. This was Indian Naval Intelligence in an alert to Indian Customs officials. For the love of Alfred Thayer Mahan, will you all RTFA before commenting?
Posted by: Pappy   2005-07-25 02:12  

#15  Who would know and what would happen if all NoKo boats were to be sunk wherever they approached other countries, without leaving traces?
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever)   2005-07-25 02:10  

#14  I see the outlines of a SEALs campaign. Shadow, assess, accidental sinking / disabling mishap. Rinse. Repeat.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 01:33  

#13  In other words, I question the timing.
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-07-25 01:21  

#12  Hmmm. Why else is North Korea in the news right now? Here's one scenario I just pulled out of thin air:

1. Someone 'leaks' to US intelligence that a rogue NorK ship is out there stuffed full of arms -n- ammo.

2. US goes on high alert, navy fleet starts monitoring/hassling all NorK shipping. (Since this is a WAG, I note that I have no idea how much shipping commerce heads to/from NKor)

3. NorKs storm out of six party talks, stating (plausibly) that the US is agressing towards NKor and they will not negotiate with unstable cowboys who are desperate to disarm them and leave them defenseless.

4. MSM dutifully reports the NorK statement minus the moonbeams and Kimmie gets a PR coup as the chattering class nods its head thoughtfully and agrees this mess is all W's fault, prolly to distract attention from the sentencing and trial of Karl Rove.
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-07-25 01:19  

#11  I do remember, Frank. We had to let it go because the buyers insisted (I don't remember who the buyers were, but then my memory has been a bit porous lately.) Would the same ploy work this time, do you think?
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-07-25 00:49  

#10  What country is the US customing?

The US has customs agents in India, but only for inspecting containers bound for the US. The alert came from Indian Naval Intelligence to Indian Customs.

Posted by: Pappy   2005-07-25 00:37  

#9  sink it at sea

Exactly my thoughts. One well-placed shell amidships would take care of one little part of the NorK arms proliferation problem.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-07-25 00:27  

#8  The ship can't be stopped or boarded in international waters. There's no legal justification. India's not at war with NK, nor is there an international authorization a la Iraq.

Once in Indian waters, it can be stopped for 'safety' reasons. Still can't do anything about the cargo.

Best thing would be to track the ship and catch it as it's unloading. Methinks India does not wish to do this and have to deal with the ramifications. Hhence the rather public 'classified and specific alert'.
Posted by: Pappy   2005-07-24 23:45  

#7  "...sent a ‘‘classified and specific alert’’ to Customs officials..."
What country is the US customing? The sovereign Neptune's Oasis? I hope they don't stop the shipment before the 6 party talks bear fruit with the NORKS, or they might just take it the wrong way or worst...retaliate!!
Posted by: smn   2005-07-24 23:44  

#6  possibly - you remember this actually happened, right?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-24 23:27  

#5  What would it do to the Scuds if the cement were to be thoroughly watered? Would they be repairable afterward?
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-07-24 23:18  

#4  same as the Scuds under the cement - should never make it out of international waters in one piece
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-24 22:56  

#3  What happens when a NoKo boat carries a nuke on-board?
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever)   2005-07-24 22:53  

#2  sink it at sea
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-24 22:06  

#1  Why didn't they stop it at sea?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-07-24 21:55  

00:00