the writer of this article will demonstrate clear some of the clear hypocrisy practiced by the empire;

On 25 November this year, three vessels of the Ukrainian navy approached the Kerch Strait which separates Crimea from the Russian mainland. They came from the Black Sea side of the Strait, which leads in turn to the Sea of Azov.1

Passage of shipping through this narrow Strait is governed by general international law and in the case of Russia and Ukraine by a specific treaty signed between the two countries on 24 December 2003.

It is clear from the detailed timeline released by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on 26 November that the actions of the Ukrainian ships were in violation of both the treaty and the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Subsequent to the seizure of the three Ukrainian vessels by the FSB, documents discovered on one of the ships clearly indicated that the ships were under instructions to act “covertly” in passing under the Kerch Bridge.

There is no obvious innocent reason for the ships to act covertly. The treaty provides specific procedures for transiting the narrow strait. These arrangements are primarily for safety reasons, but also the legitimate security concerns of the Russian Federation, also guaranteed under UNCLOS.

Given that the ships were also traversing Russia’s territorial waters there is no question that Russia had appropriate jurisdiction to direct the Maritime traffic.

UNCLOS also provides a right of “innocent passage” (Article 19) and that term is clearly defined in the Convention. For the detailed reasons set out in the timeline provided by the FSB including but not limited to the uncovering of artillery installations on board the ships and directing them towards the Russian naval vessels, the Ukrainians were manifestly not in “innocent passage.”

Western reporting of the incident however, has seen a repetition of their stale arguments about “Russian aggression.” There have been constant references to Russia’s “annexation” of Crimea. The usual intemperate voices in the United States have demanded that NATO ships be sent to the Sea of Azov, which betrays a fundamental ignorance of geography, let alone Russia’s defensive capabilities in that region.............https://journal-neo.org/2018/12/04/the-kerch-bridge-incident-points-to-wider-issues/