>>9740716 lb

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/eastchinasea-naming-06242020141235.html

China has released a list of Chinese names for 50 new underwater features in the East China Sea, heightening tensions at the same time as an exercise between the United States and Japan in the South China Sea.

China and Japan have a long-running territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, which China calls the Diaoyu Dao. The uninhabited islets sit in the deep south of the East China Sea, and are a recurring flashpoint between the two countries.

China’s Ministry of Natural Resources published a list identifying and locating 50 undersea features near the Senkakus late Tuesday, similar to its announcement in late April of 55 new undersea features in the South China Sea – most of which were in the exclusive economic zone of another neighbor, Vietnam, and appear to match the location of previous Chinese survey ship activity in the area.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet conducted a bilateral exercise Tuesday with close ally Japan in the South China Sea.

“The opportunity to operate with our friends and allies at sea is incredibly important for our combined readiness and partnership,” said Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, in a statement released by the 7th Fleet. “Executing complex maritime skills with our Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force allies allows both of our teams to build on our interoperability and readiness as we maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The exercise involved the USS Gabrielle Giffords, a littoral combat ship that has sailed repeatedly in the South China Sea in recent weeks, and two JMSDF training vessels. The drill focused on bilateral communications and precision maneuvering, according to the statement, which said the goal was to build interoperability between the U.S. Navy and the upcoming cohort of Japanese naval officers.

>>9741160

asian cop is cuter tho

truman, in hindsight, seems like a dick

>>9741193

ike seems alright. he hit the pause button on war

>>9741214

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/24/whole-foods-bottled-water-arsenic-found

Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in most of its US stores and on Amazon contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, according to new tests by Consumer Reports (CR).

CR recently tested dozens of bottled water brands and found that Starkey Spring Water, introduced by Whole Foods in 2015, had concerning levels of arsenic, ranging from 9.49 to 9.56 parts per billion (PPB), at least three times the level of every other brand tested. Federal regulations require manufacturers to limit the amount of arsenic, a potentially dangerous heavy metal, in bottled water to 10 PPB. CR experts believe that level does not adequately protect public health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which regulates municipal water in the US, allows states to set their own standards for tap water, so long as they’re at least as strict as the federal level. But federal bottled water regulations, which are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generally prohibit states from creating more stringent limits for contaminants in bottled water.

That puts Starkey Spring Water in the unusual position of being legal when put in a bottle but, in certain states, illegal if it came out of a household faucet.

A spokesperson for Amazon, which owns Whole Foods and sells Starkey online for $1.99 in a plastic bottle, deferred to the grocery chain’s communications team. A Whole Foods spokesperson told CR that the company’s “highest priority is to provide customers with safe, high-quality and refreshing spring water”.