"Build in Japan" not a done deal?

The above cartoon says many things. It is a comment on the four members of the Advisory Panel for the Competitive Evaluation Process, on avoidance of "where to build" issue, a club wielding Defence Minister Andrews and Senator Nick Xenophon (smelling a rat). "Yamamoto" is more likely a  slightly xenophobic reference to the famous WWII Admiral rather to a (or the) actual Shipyard. (Cartoon courtesy of Your Democracy  http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/30346)

There has been no news or statement that I have seen from the Advisory Panel since it was appointed on June 5, 2015. One can only assume it is designed to endorse and dignify the suspected captain's pick. However Minister Andrews is doing his best to allay suspicions of a pick.

Michael Owen of The Australian, July 30, 2015 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/japanese-subs-bid-not-a-done-deal-defence-minister-kevin-andrews/story-e6frg8yo-1227462411438

 "Japanese subs bid not a done deal: Defence Minister Kevin Andrews

Concerns about the capability of Soryu-class submarines have been raised by Defence Minister Kevin Andrews a day after Japan’s ambassador promoted the vessel as the closest to fulfilling Royal Australian Navy requirements.

Mr Andrews…told The Australian that while there was some strategic benefit to the Japanese bid to build Australia’s next-generation fleet of submarines, capability was the key criteria. “The Soryu is about the size that we’re looking at, but there are also other questions in terms of its endurance,” Mr Andrews said

“Obviously we are interested in strategic alliances with like-minded countries in the area, but at the end of the day it is going to be the capability of the submarine that counts. We’ve got to have a submarine which is as good and preferably better than the Collins."

“It has got to be able to travel very long distances and sit under the water for long periods of time and come home.” …He rejected repeated claims by Labor that Tony Abbott had done a secret deal with Japan, pointing to an expert oversight [Advisory] panel chaired by former US secretary of the navy Don Winter and including former Federal Court judge Julie Anne Dodds-Streeton." WHOLE ARTICLE

Pete