This is why we need a combatant Navy - National MP Annabel Young says that the deployment of Te Kaha to stand off Timor should silence the critics of the blue-water Navy.

“Thank God we have the frigates. This is not a job for shoreline patrol craft. Frigates like Te Kaha are serious ships that send a serious message about our commitment to our near neighbors. The frigates are big enough to do a range of jobs. Whether they fire their guns or simply stand off-shore and stand ready to uplift passengers, the New Zealand frigates are capable of doing a sensible job.”

Annabel young said that the deployment of soldiers would also require navy and Air support. “You don’t just stick soldiers on the ground. Army deployments have to be an integral part of an air and sea plan.”

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>