The great virtue of carriers, say the admirals, is versatility: last March Sea Harriers from Illustrious escorted allied reconnaissance planes over Southern Iraq.
Japanese F-2 fighter jets were scrambled, as the Russian Su-27 planes flew south over the Sea of Japan before turning back to the north, Japan's Kyodo news agency said.
If that is true for an accord governing assistance to downed planes and ships lost at sea, it surely is the case when it comes to the disposition of potentially many billions of dollars worth of undersea oil and gas deposits.