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 d-usa wrote:
One is an independent country with its own sovereign government in a free association with the United States, the other is a United States Territory. One of the falls under US jurisdiction and has United States citizens, the other one doesn't.

Read this again...
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/173999.pdf

USA has a legal obligation to treat an attack on Marshall Islands like an attack on the USA, it seems...

Even our own state's dept page:

The United States has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands, and the Government of the Marshall Islands is obligated to refrain from taking actions that would be incompatible with these security and defense responsibilities.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26551.htm?utm_content=buffer8af2c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Sorry, I forgot that it is futile to argue against all the random blogs and RSS feeds that count as facts in whembly land.

I've wondered about that. If you're a US based ship, but you're flying a Liberian flag of convenience, does the Navy still protect you? I mean, you want to duck out of the costs of registering in that country, well, you opted out, right?

 d-usa wrote:
Sorry, I forgot that it is futile to argue against all the random blogs and RSS feeds that count as facts in whembly land.

So the Department of State's own website is a random blog/RSS feed in "whemblyland".

O.o

Cool story bro.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Ouze wrote:
I've wondered about that. If you're a US based ship, but you're flying a Liberian flag of convenience, does the Navy still protect you? I mean, you want to duck out of the costs of registering in that country, well, you opted out, right?

I'm not so sure about that... need to ask my dad as he's been around sailors up in Alaska for most of his life. My gut feeling is, maybe.

In this case, they were were flying the Marshall Island flag... which the US is obligated to defend/support.

 Ouze wrote:
I've wondered about that. If you're a US based ship, but you're flying a Liberian flag of convenience, does the Navy still protect you? I mean, you want to duck out of the costs of registering in that country, well, you opted out, right?

I think thats how it works.

Naval rules and regulations are kinda wonky sometimes, and flag flying has always had important meaning.

Back in the 1800s, if you were flying one kingdoms flag it meant all the enemies of that flag had open season on you, no matter what your actual flag was.

Even moeny says a US Naval Ship going to be hugging that Free Passage lane for quite awhile to avoid another incident

 whembly wrote:
So the Department of State's own website is a random blog/RSS feed in "whemblyland".

There is an obvious distinction between the Marshall Islands, and Puerto Rico. In broad strokes the US is far more likely to abandon the Marshall Islands, and it certainly isn't going to start a war over a ship flagged there.

 Grey Templar wrote:

Back in the 1800s, if you were flying one kingdoms flag it meant all the enemies of that flag had open season on you, no matter what your actual flag was.

But this is 2015. We now have these awesome things called "GPS" and "satellite internet". Hell, I'm sitting in a Chicago apartment and I can tell you where the Maersk Kensingnton is thanks to marinetraffic.com.

There is no reason to rely on flags anymore.

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:
So the Department of State's own website is a random blog/RSS feed in "whemblyland".

There is an obvious distinction between the Marshall Islands, and Puerto Rico. In broad strokes the US is far more likely to abandon the Marshall Islands, and it certainly isn't going to start a war over a ship flagged there.

There is also an obvious distinction between a US ship and a Marshall Island ship, considering that even with a Compact of Free Association they are two very distinct countries.
Just as there is an obvious distinction between the defense of a country and the defense of a single ship flying that countries flag.

If Iran boarded a German ship it would be pretty foolish to pretent that the German ship is basically a US ship because of NATO or other similar treaties. A foreign sovereign country doesn't become the United States just because we have an agreement to provide a country with national defense. It is a ship that belongs to the Marshall Islands, no matter how many treaties and papers from the State department are posted.

 d-usa wrote:

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:
So the Department of State's own website is a random blog/RSS feed in "whemblyland".

There is an obvious distinction between the Marshall Islands, and Puerto Rico. In broad strokes the US is far more likely to abandon the Marshall Islands, and it certainly isn't going to start a war over a ship flagged there.

There is also an obvious distinction between a US ship and a Marshall Island ship, considering that even with a Compact of Free Association they are two very distinct countries.
Just as there is an obvious distinction between the defense of a country and the defense of a single ship flying that countries flag.

If Iran boarded a German ship it would be pretty foolish to pretent that the German ship is basically a US ship because of NATO or other similar treaties. A foreign sovereign country doesn't become the United States just because we have an agreement to provide a country with national defense. It is a ship that belongs to the Marshall Islands, no matter how many treaties and papers from the State department are posted.

And yet... this administration wants to have an agreement, any agreement at apparently any cost, with the Iranian government over nukes.

By definition, a belligerent nation. o.O