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Legal expert Al Gillespie - Source: ONE News -
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An expert in conservation law believes the Government would not be prepared to risk facing off with Japan by sending a boat to the Southern Ocean Whaling Sanctuary.
Labour and the Greens have called for New Zealand navy patrol boats to be in the Southern Ocean during the whaling season after Japan announced this week it will resume its whaling programme over summer.
Japan's Agriculture Minister said the fleet will have military security to protect it from the conservation group Sea Shepherd which has promised to launch "Operation Divine Wind" or kamikaze against them.
The Greens say the Government should send a boat to ensure the safety of protest vessels trying to stop the hunt, while Labour says a New Zealand vessel could play a positive role in preventing injury or deaths during dangerous manoeuvres between the protesters and whaling ships.
Professor Al Gillespie of Waikato University told TV ONE's Breakfast there is a precedent because New Zealand sent a ship to the Pacific in 1973 to oppose French atmospheric nuclear testing.
But he said the difficulty now is that if Japan sends a vessel down to the Southern Ocean as well as New Zealand the situation becomes a little less stable.
"I don't think it's anything any Government would be prepared to risk," Gillespie said.
"It's not as good situation. What you have here is a non-governmental organisation (Sea Shepherd) and Japan going head to head, both looking for as much publicity as they can get."
Gillespie said it is up to the Netherlands, who fly the flag for the Sea Shepherd, and Japan to resolve the issue at the International Maritime organisation.
"How much New Zealand wants to get involved in this is a very difficult debate."
He said New Zealand has the responsibility for search and rescue in that sector of Antarctica so there's merit in for going down there for that reason "because if something happens it will be up to us to pull them out".
Longest-standing debate
The whaling debate is the longest-standing debate in international environmental law, Gillespie said.
"Since 1972, Japan has been told off, abused, threatened, to stop what it has been doing. It has never done that. Since the mid '80s they've been very clear that the think this is their treaty right to take these whales.
"Japan has never turned around, never stopped and despite all the diplomacy shows no intention of changing their way."
The only thing that will change that will be the International Court of Justice, he said.
Australia has begun legal action against Japan in the International Court of Justice, with initial submissions already made. New Zealand supports Australia taking that action.
Gillespie said while the Sea Shepherd can't be blamed for going to Antarctic waters, they are certainly escalating the situation, and the diplomatic route is now very much at an end.
"The current negotiation for a solution began in 1997 and have now fizzled out."
Last year a New Zealander with Sea Shepherd, Peter Bethune, managed to board a whaling ship but was arrested by the crew and taken back to Tokyo where he was jailed briefly.
Gillespie said both Sea Shepherd and the whalers have violated a lot of the rules over the way that maritime traffic should behave.
"You've got people trying to board each other's boats, you've got vessels being rammed, it really is a question now until someone dies."
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has expressed alarm over recent statements from Paul Watson of Shepherd suggesting life threatening tactics would be employed by his vessels, and Japanese suggestions that their fleets would be accompanied by undisclosed security measures.
The Government had not yet considered sending an offshore vessel to the Southern Ocean, he said.
Australian Greens demand action
Meanwhile in Australia, the Greens leader Senator Bob Brown says the Navy and federal police should be involved in pursuing and investigating Japanese whalers.
Environment Minister Tony Burke said there was "no justification" for continued whaling and Australia condemned commercial whaling.
Japan is reportedly spending $US27 million ($NZ35.2 million) on upgrading its fleet to improve safety for crews, as Sea Shepherd prepares to pursue the ships and stop whale killings.
Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the Government should outline how many years it would take for the international court process to take and what action it planned to take in the meantime.
Brown said in Canberra that immediate action should include sending the Navy into the southern ocean to take photographs and video of whalers in action.
"We need to send pictures of this bloody business to the world," Brown said.
"There's a lot of distress in this country about the government serially sitting on their hands, while it's left to Sea Shepherd to go down and do the heavy lifting when it comes to defending whales, our whales."
Brown said the Australian Federal Police should also work with Interpol and Japanese authorities to examine whaling boats when they returned to Japan.
Brown said the federal Government should insist that the whalers' tapes, logs, "all evidence of this illegal action by the Japanese whaling fleet" is brought out and available, if, for no other reason than the world court case.
Should New Zealand send a navy vessel to the Southern Ocean during Japan's whaling season? Have your say on our messageboard below.
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentsilveradocyn said on 2011-10-17 @ 16:25 NZDT: Report abusive post
As it is an area where NZ provides search and rescue, it probably makes sense to have a boat "down in the area". Last year the Sea Shepherds provided tremendous support in the search for suvivors of the boat lost in the storm. Something seems wrong that the Japanese are spending so much money to continue this "research" when they have such suffering and needs for resources at home after the earthquake and tsnami. Send down a boat, work with the Shepherds once the whales have been found!
silveradocyn said on 2011-10-17 @ 16:25 NZDT: Report abusive post
As it is an area where NZ provides search and rescue, it probably makes sense to have a boat "down in the area". Last year the Sea Shepherds provided tremendous support in the search for suvivors of the boat lost in the storm. Something seems wrong that the Japanese are spending so much money to continue this "research" when they have such suffering and needs for resources at home after the earthquake and tsnami. Send down a boat, work with the Shepherds once the whales have been found!
MrSquishy said on 2011-10-13 @ 13:29 NZDT: Report abusive post
Not really. Japan is permitted to muster, keep and use self defense forces. After years of aggression from Sea Shepherd, nobody can tell the Japanese theyre out of line for wanting to defend their citizens on the whaling ships. Im annoyed by the Australians constant use of the language illegal when referring to Japans whaling. Theyve been talking like that for years, but have never shown the Japanese to actually be breaking any law.
Wolfman said on 2011-10-06 @ 17:04 NZDT: Report abusive post
Won't the precence of a Japanese Military Vessel in these waters be an act of war as per the Surrender after the war? From my reading they are not to show any aggressive behaviour, or be in breach of the documents they signed. I wonder if the Millions that people from around the world gave after the Earthquakes has been spent on upgrading their fleet.