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| Africa Subsaharan | |
| US seeks to block Zim-bound Chinese arms | |
| 2008-04-22 | |
| The Bush administration is intervening with governments in southern Africa to prevent a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe's security forces from unloading its cargo, The Associated Press has learned. At the same time, the State Department's top Africa hand, Jendayi Frazer, plans to visit the region this week to underscore U.S. concerns about the shipment. Frazer also will try to persuade Zimbabwe's neighbors to step up pressure on President Robert Mugabe's government to publish results from a disputed election that the opposition claims to have won, administration officials said Monday. U.S. intelligence agencies are tracking the vessel, the An Yue Jiang, and American diplomats have been instructed to press authorities in at least four nations — South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Angola — not to allow it to dock, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss delicate diplomatic talks. The ship, which is laden with large amounts of weapons and ammunition, already has been turned away from South Africa and Mozambique, and is now believed to be headed for Angola, possibly with a refueling stop in Namibia. The freighter left South Africa after a judge on Friday barred the arms from transiting South Africa and it was not immediately clear if U.S. lobbying had influenced authorities in Mozambique who stopped it from docking over the weekend. Two officials said Washington's effort to block the ship from unloading its cargo was now concentrated on Namibia and Angola and that both countries were being told that allowing the An Yue Jiang to dock could harm their relations with the United States.
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| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 It'll be interesting to see how the COSCO marketing department spins this one... [Link is down - big surprise.] |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-04-22 21:57 |
| #9 A sudden complicated thought, the Zimbob Govt wants the public unarmed, how's it feel to be disarmed yourself, Not good Hunh? Sause for the goose..... |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-04-22 17:19 |
| #8 Where's the "pirates" when ya need em? Negative , you do NOT want well armed Pirates. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-04-22 16:52 |
| #7 I don't see a problem here, just sink the ship. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-04-22 16:41 |
| #6 yay africans! |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-04-22 13:53 |
| #5 China: Ship carrying weapons to Zimbabwe may head home HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - A shipment of weapons to Zimbabwe may be returned to China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after the troubled southern African nation's neighbors prevented the cargo from being unloaded. A South African group persuaded a judge to bar the weapons from transiting through the country to landlocked Zimbabwe, and the An Yue Jiang then sailed away from South Africa. Private groups and government officials in Mozambique, Angola and Namibia also objected to the weapons, though Namibia said the ship could refuel there if necessary. "As far as I know, the carrier is now considering carrying back the cargo," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. Although Jiang offered no details, the move appeared to indicate a backdown in the face of refusals by Zimbabwe's neighbors to allow the weapons to be offloaded and shipped through their territories. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-22 13:30 |
| #4 Where's the "pirates" when ya need em? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-22 12:10 |
| #3 Its a ships graveyard along the coast from Nambia through Angola. National Geographic and others have done shows on it. Something about lots of storms, freak currents and rocks. Another ship wrecked would not be unusual there. |
| Posted by: Lampedusa Spising3253 2008-04-22 01:14 |
| #2 Its a ships graveyard along the coast from Nambia through Angola. National Geographic and others have done shows on it. Something about lots of storms, freak currents and rocks. Another ship wrecked would not be unusual there. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-04-22 01:13 |
| #1 Nice ship ya got there. Be a shame if something happened to it. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-04-22 00:36 |