Australia rebukes Japan over breach

THE Gillard government has complained to Japan after a whaling vessel went deep into Australian territorial waters in pursuit of a protest vessel.

Hours after Japan said yesterday it would release three Australian protesters who illegally boarded a whaling security ship, it emerged that another vessel of the Japanese fleet went as close as four nautical miles to Tasmania's Macquarie Island in pursuit of the activists' long-range ship Bob Barker.

This brought the Japanese ship, the whale catcher Yushin Maru No. 3, inside Australia's 12 nautical mile territorial limit, where domestic laws ban whaling.

A spokesman for Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the government had complained to Japan about the incursion.

''We have asked our embassy [in Tokyo] today to reiterate to the Japanese government that whaling vessels are not welcome in Australian territorial waters,'' the spokesman said.

Earlier, Greens leader Bob Brown accused the Japanese of provoking the conflict by sailing into Australian territory. ''The whalers have taken one more step in aggravating this dispute,'' he said. ''They are thumbing their noses at Australia again.''

Meanwhile, south of WA, the Shonan Maru No. 2 steamed on in pursuit of the Sea Shepherd flagship, Steve Irwin, after the agreement to release the activists.

Ms Roxon said the Ocean Protector would be diverted from a fishing patrol to meet the Shonan Maru No. 2 and pick up the activists.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/australia-rebukes-japan-over-breach-20120110-1...

____ wrote on Jan 10^th, 2012 at 11:38pm:


They weren't whaling.
They were passing through.
Which means this is a 'non event'.
Booby might like to put two teaspoons of C-ment in his morning cocoa, and harden up.
The Japanese should have told Gillard to keep her freaky pirates off their vessels, lest next time they walk the plank for their efforts.