Into the maelstrom
...The crew is multinational: Germans, French, Americans, one Australian and a Spaniard. It’s handy to get plenty of embassies involved when citizens get into trouble, one quips.
The coming weeks promise to be intense, not only for the activists and the whalers but also for Australia’s diplomatic ties with Japan in a region already fraught with strife and political uncertainty. This will be the first time Sea Shepherd has directly confronted the whalers since 2013 and the first time the activists claim to have a ship fast enough to outpace the Japanese fleet.
And this summer could also mark another dramatic first – the first pictures the public will see of bloodied dead whales being dragged from the ocean after Japan stubbornly circumvented an International Court of Justice ruling that had declared its so-called “science” to be illegal.
“Sabotage activities by Sea Shepherd are not acceptable as they threaten our research ships and the lives and safety of their crew,” says a spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Canberra, Tetsuya Kuroi.
Tokyo has now withdrawn from the international court’s jurisdiction to head off any future challenge and has urged countries – including Australia – that allow Sea Shepherd to dock to reconsider the potential threat. Some hardliners in Japan regard the protesters as close to being terrorists.
...The crew is multinational: Germans, French, Americans, one Australian and a Spaniard. It’s handy to get plenty of embassies involved when citizens get into trouble, one quips.
The coming weeks promise to be intense, not only for the activists and the whalers but also for Australia’s diplomatic ties with Japan in a region already fraught with strife and political uncertainty. This will be the first time Sea Shepherd has directly confronted the whalers since 2013 and the first time the activists claim to have a ship fast enough to outpace the Japanese fleet.
And this summer could also mark another dramatic first – the first pictures the public will see of bloodied dead whales being dragged from the ocean after Japan stubbornly circumvented an International Court of Justice ruling that had declared its so-called “science” to be illegal.
“Sabotage activities by Sea Shepherd are not acceptable as they threaten our research ships and the lives and safety of their crew,” says a spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Canberra, Tetsuya Kuroi.
Tokyo has now withdrawn from the international court’s jurisdiction to head off any future challenge and has urged countries – including Australia – that allow Sea Shepherd to dock to reconsider the potential threat. Some hardliners in Japan regard the protesters as close to being terrorists.
