Russian, English Channel, EU posturing
Discussion
Seeing footage and news articles like this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37725327
Really makes you think! Russian warships in the English channel and then cuts to footage of the EU bureaucracy.
This is a perfect catalyst for the EU to decide that they need an army but to what end? Further escalation and expansionism seems the EU's only response.
When you compare Aleppo to Mosul, what are the differences? State is attacking a city within its own country that has been overtaken by rebels and being supported by an outside superpower with air support, weapons and specialists on the ground. The level of spin is astonishing! I can't believe that the deaths of civilians will be significantly different in proportions between the two battles being fought. The only difference is Russia won't be supplying ISIS with weapons to defend Mosul...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37725327
Really makes you think! Russian warships in the English channel and then cuts to footage of the EU bureaucracy.
This is a perfect catalyst for the EU to decide that they need an army but to what end? Further escalation and expansionism seems the EU's only response.
When you compare Aleppo to Mosul, what are the differences? State is attacking a city within its own country that has been overtaken by rebels and being supported by an outside superpower with air support, weapons and specialists on the ground. The level of spin is astonishing! I can't believe that the deaths of civilians will be significantly different in proportions between the two battles being fought. The only difference is Russia won't be supplying ISIS with weapons to defend Mosul...
eyebeebe said:
Knowing very little about sea law...
Can the Russians just pass through our territorial waters like this?
If they were flying planes into our airspace without permission we'd be (threatening to) shoot them down.
I expect we'll send them a strongly worded memo, or maybe a twitter complaint or something. Can the Russians just pass through our territorial waters like this?
If they were flying planes into our airspace without permission we'd be (threatening to) shoot them down.
eyebeebe said:
Knowing very little about sea law...
Can the Russians just pass through our territorial waters like this?
If they were flying planes into our airspace without permission we'd be (threatening to) shoot them down.
The carrier is surely passing in international waters, if I well remember territorial waters are just 12 nautical miles from the coast.Can the Russians just pass through our territorial waters like this?
If they were flying planes into our airspace without permission we'd be (threatening to) shoot them down.
matsoc said:
The carrier is surely passing in international waters, if I well remember territorial waters are just 12 nautical miles from the coast.
The British territorial waters map I just looked at suggests that the boundary in the straits of Dover is almost France. So the carrier must be in our or French waters at some point?Perhaps I'm the only one who's slightly amused by this insouciant Naval cruise past. IMHO there's enough hyped 'tension' between Russia and the West at the moment, the very fact they're casually cruising through the channel with a big old clunker of an aircraft carrier, on their way to kick ISIS even further back into history is quite good - it proves everyone can co-exist, even if we don't always agree.
essayer said:
Foreign ships are allowed to sail in our waters, surely? Doesn't mean WW3 is about to start.
Armed foreign warships are allowed within a few miles of our coast? Seems a little risky to me. We sure as hell don't like Russian bombers entering our airspace. What is different about warships?eyebeebe said:
Armed foreign warships are allowed within a few miles of our coast? Seems a little risky to me. We sure as hell don't like Russian bombers entering our airspace. What is different about warships?
There's a teeny tiny difference between something that can be well inside the line within seconds, and something that may or may not be able to do anything at snails pace, when we have had a week's warning, so have propositioned plenty of fireworks Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff