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There's really no reason to do this because it's essentially a declaration of war against Russia. If you're willing to go to war with Russia, just send the Coas

There's really no reason to do this because it's essentially a declaration of war against Russia. If you're willing to go to war with Russia, just send the Coast Guard to seize vessels.

xdennis 5y ago
Italy has already seized Russian ships. I don't see them being invaded by Russia. https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-seizes-yacht-owned-by-russian-oligarch-mordashov-source-2022-03-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-seizes-yacht-owned-by-ru...
- toyg 5y ago
  That's not a "Russian ship", that's a personal yacht owned by a Russian who has been explicitly sanctioned. The boat was sailing under flag of the Virgin Islands (tax haven, who would have thought!). Sequestering all generic ships sailing under Russian flag would be a different, and much more serious, action.
- patja 5y ago
  It feels like the Italians are trying to make up for / save face regarding the luxury goods sanctions carveout after experiencing widespread criticism.
prepend 5y ago
As Sid Meier’s Civilization game taught me, privateering is explicitly not a declaration of war. It’s been used many times as a Cold War style tactic. Now, Russia might declare ware and cite this as a reason, but it’s not. It’s more like state sponsored terrorism. Like how Iran isn’t actually declaring war on Israel with its Hezbollah sponsorship. Similarly, the US wasn’t declaring war on the USSR when it armed Afghan rebels in the 80s.
- hef19898 5y ago
  Privateering stopped being a thing in the late 19th century. Being state-sanctioned, it is kind of a declaration of war, especially nowadays it would be. Confiscating assets due to sanctions is very different from privateering.
- jwithington 5y ago
  The mechanism for war would be Russians killing American privateers
Gareth321 5y ago
If there is one thing this war has taught me, it's that any action, at any time, and for any reason, can be interpreted by anyone, as an act of war. Putin has a black belt in this kind of rhetoric. Russian assets, including boats, are being seized all over the world right now. The potential difference here is that the order will apply to international waters. The US never signed UNCLOS, so it wouldn't be breaking any treaties with Russia. However it would put at risk merchant fleets all over the world through reprisal, and I think the rest of the world has a lot more to lose in this game than Russia. For this reason, I do not think this will be ratified.

There's really no reason to do this because it's essentially a declaration of war against Russia. If you're willing to go to war with Russia, just send the Coast Guard to seize vessels.

xdennis 5y ago

Italy has already seized Russian ships. I don't see them being invaded by Russia. https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-seizes-yacht-owned-by-russian-oligarch-mordashov-source-2022-03-04/ https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-seizes-yacht-owned-by-ru...

toyg 5y ago
That's not a "Russian ship", that's a personal yacht owned by a Russian who has been explicitly sanctioned. The boat was sailing under flag of the Virgin Islands (tax haven, who would have thought!). Sequestering all generic ships sailing under Russian flag would be a different, and much more serious, action.
patja 5y ago
It feels like the Italians are trying to make up for / save face regarding the luxury goods sanctions carveout after experiencing widespread criticism.

prepend 5y ago

As Sid Meier’s Civilization game taught me, privateering is explicitly not a declaration of war. It’s been used many times as a Cold War style tactic. Now, Russia might declare ware and cite this as a reason, but it’s not. It’s more like state sponsored terrorism. Like how Iran isn’t actually declaring war on Israel with its Hezbollah sponsorship. Similarly, the US wasn’t declaring war on the USSR when it armed Afghan rebels in the 80s.

hef19898 5y ago
Privateering stopped being a thing in the late 19th century. Being state-sanctioned, it is kind of a declaration of war, especially nowadays it would be. Confiscating assets due to sanctions is very different from privateering.
jwithington 5y ago
The mechanism for war would be Russians killing American privateers

Gareth321 5y ago

If there is one thing this war has taught me, it's that any action, at any time, and for any reason, can be interpreted by anyone, as an act of war. Putin has a black belt in this kind of rhetoric. Russian assets, including boats, are being seized all over the world right now. The potential difference here is that the order will apply to international waters. The US never signed UNCLOS, so it wouldn't be breaking any treaties with Russia. However it would put at risk merchant fleets all over the world through reprisal, and I think the rest of the world has a lot more to lose in this game than Russia. For this reason, I do not think this will be ratified.