British warships refuse to shell sacred island

Press, 3 July 1986, Page 21

British warships refuse to shell sacred island

From

IAN MATHER,

in Honolulu

Tact has led British warships to refuse a United States invitation to take part in the shelling of a sacred Hawaiian island. Kaho’olawe is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as containing 487 archaeological sites, including temples and shrines. But under a Presidential executive order, the 45 square mile island is barred to the public because parts of it are used as a shelling range by the United States Navy. Seven British warships taking part in a naval exercise in the Pacific were invited to shell the island to practice at targets on land. They, and warships from Japan and Australia, which have also been participating in the exercise, declined. The British refusal was ordered by Whitehall because the Government is anxious to avoid unnecessary controversy as the British ships are exercising well outside the N.A.T.O. area.

However, Rear Admiral Robin Hogg, who heads the British flotilla, says: "I wouldn’t have done it anyway. We would be mad to get involved.” The British ships are taking part in Exercise Rimpac (Pacific

Rim) as part of an around-the-world flag-showing expedition which lasts from April until Christmas. The British fleet was deprived of its flagship when the gearbox of the aircraft carrier Illustrious caught fire only a few hours after the ship sailed from Portsmouth.

The shelling of Kaho’olawe is an emotional issue in Hawaii. The granting of independence to many Pacific colonial territories in recent years has produced a resurgence of interest in native culture in Hawaii. According to Hawaiian tradition, Kaho’olawe was the sacred refuge of the god of the ocean, Kanaloa. Both houses of the Hawaiian legislature have twice called for a halt to the shelling, and Hannibal Tavares, Mayor of Maui, the nearest populated island, has protested that the shelling is hazardous and noisy.

Two weeks before the latest shelling began, members of a local protest movement called Protect Kaho’olawe Ohana (P.K.0.) demonstrated in canoes and held a “Ho’okupu,” an ancient Hawaiian ceremony invoking the protection of the gods.

The United States insists that

the firings are strictly controlled. “We take it very seriously,” says Lieutenant Commander Timothy Taylor of the United States Third Fleet. “The archaeological sites are all charted and marked, and all are well away from the target areas. We inspect the island regularly and we believe no site has been damaged.” After the latest shelling, members of the P.K.O. landed on the island with a United States Navy archaeologist to inspect the sites for damage and planned to spend the summer solstice there.

The presence of British ships for the first time in a major postwar Pacific exercise has aroused considerable controversy, particularly in Japan, where defence is a major issue in this month’s general election. During the exercise, one of the British ships, the frigate Amazon, was asked by the captain of a United States aircraft carrier to fire on Kaho’olawe. Captain John Ellis signalled back: “Am specifically forbidden from doing that.” His ship was transferred to another task.

Japan has its own reasons for being aware of local sensitivities. Eight Japanese warships taking part in the exercise have been tied up within sight of a floating memorial to the 2403 United States sailors killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. Canadian ships did agree to take part in the bombardment but used only smoke shells. The American ships used live ammunition. Admiral Kendall E. Moranville, Commander of tqe United States Third Fleet, who is in over-all charge of the exercise, says the fact that other navies had refused to bombard Kaho’olawe was a minor matter, since Rimpac was an “at sea” exercise. “We allow any participating nation which requests to use the island range to do so. We were the only ones that had that requirement,” he adds. The exercise involved 53 warships, including two United States aircraft carriers, with 250 aircraft and over 50,000 sailors.

The exercise scenario is that Hawaii is threatened by an unnamed foreign country called “Orange” through strike, revolution, and then direct military intervention. “Blue” forces, which include the British, set off to the rescue from California.. Officially the British warships are involved in a major Pacific exercise for the first time because “we were going past the door,” according to Admiral Hogg. A second reason is the prospect of arms sales. The frigate Beaver, which has taken over from Illustrious as flagship, is a floating exhibition, and no opportunity is being lost to display

British defence wares to foreign Governments.

A reason which is not publicly acknowledged is that the Reagan Administration is keen to present to the world the prospect of a “Grand Alliance” against the Soviet Union in the Pacific. Although all those involved insist that they have no particular enemy in mind in the exercise, it is no secret that two American destroyers have been playing the role of two Soviet battlecruisers based in the Far East and a Japanese submarine is pretending to be a Soviet submarine. The massive size of the exercise reflects the strategic signifi-

cance of the Pacific for the super-Powers. The Soviet Union’s Far Eastern fleet is now its biggest, with two aircraft carriers, over 200 other warships, and 90 submarines.

The Russians are also extending their influence among the newly-independent island nations in the Pacific. Sir Kamisese Mara, the Prime Minister of Fiji, a former British colony, has revealed in Hawaii that his country is discussing a fishing agreement with the Russians.

Vanuatu, the former French and British colony of New Hebrides, began formal negotiations with the Russians over fishing rights last month. Vanuatu re-

cently established diplomatic relations with Libya and earlier with Cuba.

The president of Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) says he is interested in renegotiating a $2.5 million fishing agreement with the Russians signed last year. Meanwhile, the Americans are expanding their network of Pacific bases, and are reported to have , reached tentative agreement with the Pacific Island of Palau to build military bases despite the fact that the island has a constitution banning nuclear weapons. Copyright — London Observer Service.