Indonesia has agreed to work with the Netherlands to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several second world war shipwrecks – considered war graves – from the bottom of the Java Sea, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has said. The recent discovery that at least six Dutch and British warships sunk in 1942 had vanished from the seabed – believed salvaged for scrap – caused shock and dismay in Europe. “I would also like to thank Indonesia for its offer to cooperate after we learned about the sad news on the shipwrecks,” Rutte told reporters at the state palace. Photograph: Royal Netherlands Navy / Koninklijke Marine / WikipediaAmateur divers discovered the wrecks of three Dutch warships in 2002, 60 years after they were sunk in the battle of the Java Sea against Japanese forces. Britain expressed distress at the disappearance of its own three warships and asked Indonesia to take “appropriate action” to protect the sites from further disturbance.

Source: The Guardian November 23, 2016 08:48 UTC