US: 30,000 tonnes of jet-fuel being delivered to SK from Japan

US: 30,000 tonnes of jet-fuel being delivered to SK from Japan

www.dnaindia.com

The United States navy is seeking a medium-range oil tanker to move at least 30,000 tonnes of jet fuel from Japan to South Korea, industry sources said on Wednesday, at a time of heightened military tension on the Korean peninsula.

The transport route is unusual for jet fuel, shipping sources said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Also, Japan is assisting SK/US in Naval drills this Friday...
What's one more to the party? Surely US should get use of the Army they built up and aided.

blogs.wsj.com...

This may be nothing, of course, for 2 months ago US shipped mass-amounts of Jet Fuel to Israel... Although, I guess it's good to have it on stand-by incase anything does go down. It'd be hell trying to ship fuel in and around the Koreas when missiles are flying high and dry.

www.dnaindia.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This whole conflict isnt looking too good now is it Sounds to me like thier getting ready for something

reply to post by CanadianDream420


Its going beyond some basic drills. It looks like more wargames are being planned, along with live fire artillery drills starting in the next few weeks (was canceled before then moved). Japan I think is also going to be participating as well, although I am not sure to what extent because of their constitution.

Deploying Engineering teams to Iraq was a huge step for them that brought up bad memories.

The South has stated that any more attacks will be responded to. Today their intelligence chief stated that more attacks from N. Korea are most likely going to happen when the US warships move out of the zone.

I dont think this is going to end peacefully at all. North Korea made sure of that, as did South Korea by there response. I am curious if this has anything to do with the cables released about China's views on N. Korea. I noticed they made a statement about emergency talks and they were still an ally of N. Korea, however they made a distinction when they stated they were not taking either side in the matter.

Let it be noted, the M1 Abrams tank is fueled with JP8 jet fuel.

And we know that the US Marines use the M1 Abrams in South Korea:


2+2=War?

Originally posted by Xcathdra
China's views on N. Korea. I noticed they made a statement about emergency talks and they were still an ally of N. Korea, however they made a distinction when they stated they were not taking either side in the matter.

I am not surprised they prefer not to take sides, as I thought China would like to be friends with N Korea for political reasons, and friends with the USA for economic reasons.

reply to post by harrytuttle


JP8 fuels almost all US tactical military vehicles, generators, and heaters, not just tanks.

Failing to prepare is to prepare to fail. We have to be ready even if nothing happens.

reply to post by CanadianDream420


Could come in handy for melting tall steel framed buildings if the DPRK have any in an area where there might be too many civilian casualties if the buildings were conventionally bombed, one of the unusual byproducts of a jet fuel attack is that the buildings collapse into their own footprint, causing limited but sometimes catastrophic damage to nearby building.

af.reuters.com...

UPDATED source, more reliable.

If you know how to do the math, 30,000 tons of jet fuel
converts to 10 million gallons. Quite a bit.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Money always comes into play... China can back N. Korea, but in the end China will suffer massivley, not because of a war with the US, but because of the economic fallout if they jeopradize trade relations. China stands to loose more by defending N. Korea than if they remain neutral (play both sides of the fence).

reply to post by TedHodgson


Uh, yeh.
The moment some people on this site hear about routine things that are used by the media at times of increased international political tensions to sell more papers and increase their viewers, they start with the "somethings about to happen" crap.

This isn't directed solely at you, but why don't some of you spend a little time "military watching", pick your favourite branch of the military, and start observing movements around major bases.
You might start to get a different perspective.
For example, just because they are moving equipment or supplies from one place to another and the media makes a big deal at certain times(as mentioned above), doesn't mean WW3 is about to break out.

That doesn't mean that nothing is going on.
30,000 tonnes of oil isn't going to last very long in a war, hence whats the fuss about?

On the other hand, it could be part of preparations for just in case.
Does it hurt to be prepared?
The whole point of a military is to be prepared for such things.
If they are preparing for things that MIGHT occur, then well, I'd say your taxes are being spent accordingly as far as the military is concerned.

Originally posted by BLV12
...hence whats the fuss about?

The fuss is that these indicators show the U.S. Government is stepping up preparations for war with North Korea, which could inevitably result in nuclear war.

Millions of people could die. If you don't see the "fuss", then you need to open your eyes.

reply to post by BLV12


Good point. We all forgot that the S. Korean Military went to high alert, and will most likely remain that way for some time. They have also moved heavy equipment closer to the DMZ (military stuff). With the icreased alert status you will have more patrols on land sea and air.

This is most likely nothing more than a bump in the fuel supply to maintain the elevated alert status without having to dip into domestic fuel supplies going into winter. This is also another way to maintain vigilence without constantyl reminding the population that they are a gunshot away from war.

Having to raise fuel prices because the military has to syphon it off to maintain operations is nothing but a constant reminder. At least this way it can give an allusion of normalcy without the apprearance of panic from fuel shortages.

reply to post by Xcathdra


If you read the wikileaks cables it says that China fears a united Korea more than a conflict between south and north. I guess China doesn't want the USA as a neighbour.

Originally posted by harrytuttle

Originally posted by BLV12
...hence whats the fuss about?

The fuss is that these indicators show the U.S. Government is stepping up preparations for war with North Korea, which could inevitably result in nuclear war.

Millions of people could die. If you don't see the "fuss", then you need to open your eyes.

Yes, this could result in a nuclear war.

This is exactly why muppets like NK and Iran need to be sorted out NOW!

If Iran gets Nukes, then the whole of the Middle East will want them too.

NK supplies Iran with this sort of technology, they are in cahoots!

Cut the head off the chicken now before we all fry, it makes sense!

reply to post by abaddon6


There are other wikileak cables that reference China and N. Korea, going so far that Chinese Diplomats stated they prefer a Korea united under Souel. They are ok with the S. Korean US Alliance to the extent if the coutries are reunited US forces need to stay at or south of the 38th Paralell (DMZ).

Cables talking about the North Korean Chinese situation from Signapore shows a completely diferent version of stances.

This is one of the reasons this type of information is kept classified and not disseminated.

reply to post by Xcathdra


Oh, its classified, i should refrain from reading those cables then. Its above secret and beyond ordinary humans to understand and interpret. Thank god we have Hilary Clinton to do the work.

Originally posted by abaddon6
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

Oh, its classified, i should refrain from reading those cables then. Its above secret and beyond ordinary humans to understand and interpret. Thank god we have Hilary Clinton to do the work.

If you can check the mouth full of wise ass and actually understand the comment I made, it would make sense. The fact that there are cables saying China fears Korea united under the South, China is tired of dealing with N. Korea, to China prefering a united korea under soul, to china being ok with a untired korea under soul with an allince with the US and on and on.

Without having any other information to place this stuff into contect, it creates real problems in the Diplomacy World. Diplomatic cables have absolutely nothing to do with Assanges crusade to end wars. Countries talk to countries in offical and unoffical ways depending on the situation at hand.

So while say Singapore makes a public statement with regards to say Tiawan and the 1 China Policy, its entirely possible that outside the Public arena, IR talking with diplomats, they are lobbying for a change in that policy. Any type of Push to change the 1 China policy will set China off like no other, and could hurt trade relations between China and Singapore.

So its kept quiet, with a slow process of lobbying in addition to ideas on how to advance the goal.

The above is just an example of what these leaks are doing, and people might understand this if they werent so damn bent on feeling they have a right to be involved in and having accessto everything. This is the way our Government is set up, the people who vote participate in the process to get a person they want in office elected.

If people are so bent on being privy to this information you have a few choices.

* - Join the military
* - Join the CIA / FBI / NSA / DSS / ETC ETC ETC
* - Get elected to a Federal Government Office
* - Get appointed as an ambassador / consular official
* - Go work for a foreign Government.

Well we just got an answer on why fuel was transferred. The new Defnse Minister of S. Korea went on record stating if any further provocation comes from the North, it will be bombed by S. Korean jets.

SKorea defense nominee vows airstrikes on North

SEOUL, South Korea – President Lee Myung-bak's choice for new defense minister said Friday that South Korean jets will bomb North Korea if Pyongyang stages an attack similar to last week's deadly artillery barrage.

The tough words came as Lee's government suffered intense criticism that the response to the North's Nov. 23 shelling on a South Korean island was weak, and over a stunning revelation that the South's spy chief dismissed information in August indicating North Korea might attack the front-line island.

Lee's nominee, Kim Kwan-jin, told a parliamentary confirmation hearing that North Korean aggression will result in airstrikes. He said South Korea will use all its combat capabilities to retaliate.

SO I guess we are one bat bottle of tequilia away from war on the penninsula.