Warship “Musashi”, the Japanese military’s biggest and most powerful battleship in the Philippines in World War II, will be refloated, as preparations are underway for the 64th anniversary of the historical “Sibuyan Sea Battle” that sunk the vessel, a visiting Japanese official bared yesterday. In a meeting at a hotel at the Century Park Hotel in Manila, Japanese government representative Kiyoshi Goto and Tishihiko Suzuki, CEO of Asian Countries and Islands Optical Fiber Communication and Philippines Property Asia or AIPAC declared their intention to work with Philippine government counterparts to refloat the Musashi which was bombarded and sunk by American forces on Oct. 24, 1944. "The purpose in refloating the warship is in honor of the friendship between the Japanese and the Filipino people," said Goto, adding that their delegation will visit the site of the sunken warship in Sibuyan Sea today. Suzuki said all the expenses for refloating the ship is being worked out by his company and the Japanese government as they plan to enshrine it on Carabao Island "as a symbol not of war but of friendship" and also serve as a tourist attraction in the Philippines. For his part, General Dominador C. Resos Jr. (retired), president of the Romblon Cultural Heritage Association Inc. (ROCHAI), bared that a big event is being cooked up for the Sibuyan Sea Battle’s 64th anniversary. "Foreign dignitaries, including US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, Japanese top officials and others to witness and refresh once again the greatest and deadliest Naval battle ever recorded in the history of World war II, the Battle of Sibuyan Sea that happened on October 24, 1944," said Resos. Once dubbed as the world’s biggest battleship, the Musashi had a crew of 1,023 when it sank 1,000 meters down to the seabed of Sibuyan Sea.
What on earth?! A massive, massive undertaking. One kilometre down, huge weight and bottom suction, 64 years under water, serious battle damage - how the hell are they going to get her up in one piece or even move her?! Cool idea and would be great to see but WTF?!
I think Messrs Kiyoshi Goto and Tishihiko Suzuki had been at the saki! Do the Japs have an equivalent of April Fool's Day? Can we name one full size ship that has ever been raised from the open sea, from any depth at all? One or two submarines perhaps. If they were going to do it for the first time, how about starting with something small, like a torpedo boat, rather than virtually the biggest battleship ever built? And one with an awful lot of holes in it? Considering what the Japanese did to the Filipinos in the war, even if they were good mates now, why would they want to celebrate this with something that reminded them of the war? Why not build a Far East Disneyland instead? :noidea: And what about the fact that Musashi is a war grave?
