Re: OT: DXpedition to Thitu Island has been Cancelled
Hello John:
That runway, Rancudo Airfield, is a mixed blessing.
Its presence makes it possible to bring in the Radio Amateurs by air transport, while their
equipment and supplies are brought in by ship transport. However, Rancudo Airfield is a valuable
military asset which makes Thitu Island a hotly contested piece of real estate among military
forces of the nations of Vietnam, People's Republic of China, and the Republic of the
Philippines. Those nations have frequently had military clashes born of sovereignty disputes
involving Thitu Island in particular due to its military value, as well as some other islands
within the Spratly Islands group where commercial fishing rights, and natural gas/oil exploration
rights are contested. Even the U.S. State Department has become involved in sovereignty disputes
in the South China Sea -- see URL below.
URL [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_Islands_dispute#United_States_intervention ]
Ambiguity about legal jurisdiction in islands within the South China Sea has made that area of
the Pacific Ocean attractive for piracy. Instances of high-sea piracy occurred on Thitu Island
where Chinese pirates had murdered folks in the past, and where Chinese pirates had threatened a
group of German radio amateurs who had placed the island on-air in 1994.
Keeper of the Primordial Bit (mother of all bits), -= Ron Wiesen =-
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Gardner" <goflo3@...>
To: "Model 100 Discussion" <m100@...>
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: [M100] OT: DXpedition to Thitu Island has been Cancelled
> Maybe the DXpeditioneers are having 2nd thoughts
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