Editing Battle of the Java Sea (section)

== Wrecks ==
As of 2002 the location of the wreck of only one of the eight ships sunk during the two so-called Java Sea Battles, HMS ''Jupiter'', was known and plotted on an Admiralty chart. However, given her location in very shallow water so close to shore she had already been heavily salvaged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pacificwrecks.com/|title=Pacific Wrecks|last=PacificWrecks.com|website=pacificwrecks.com}}</ref>

In December 2002 the wrecks of HNLMS ''Java'' and HNLMS ''De Ruyter'' were discovered by a specialist wreck diving group aboard the dive vessel MV ''Empress''. ''Empress'' then went on to discover the wrecks of HMS ''Electra'' in August 2003; HNLMS ''Kortenaer'' in August 2004; and HMS ''Exeter'' and HMS ''Encounter'' in February 2007.  When discovered these wrecks were all in a very well-preserved state, save for battle damage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/visitors/denlay/|title=Kevin Denlay – Shipwreck Discoveries and SCUBA Diver|last=PacificWrecks.com|website=pacificwrecks.com}}</ref> In late 2008, ''Empress'' discovered remnants of the last wreck, USS ''Pope'', which had already been largely removed by illegal salvage diving operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pacificwrecks.com/ships/usn/DD-225.html|title=Pacific Wrecks – USS Pope DD-225|last=PacificWrecks.com|website=pacificwrecks.com}}</ref>

Although the MV ''Empress'' team kept the locations of their discoveries secret, by 2017 all eight ships had been reduced to remnants or even entirely removed by illegal commercial salvage operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyanswers.co.uk/history-of-war/java-sea-shipwrecks-of-world-war-2-one-of-the-men-who-found-them-reflects-on-their-loss/|title=Java Sea Shipwrecks of World War 2: One of the men who found them reflects on their loss – All About History|website=historyanswers.co.uk|date=23 November 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37997640|title=Mystery over Dutch WW2 shipwrecks vanished from Java Sea bed|date=2016-11-16|publisher=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-11-16}}</ref>'<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/british-second-world-war-ships-illegal-scavenging-java-sea|title=British second world war ships in Java Sea destroyed by illegal scavenging|last1=Holmes|first1=Oliver|date=2016-11-16|last2=Harding|first2=Luke|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-11-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.maritiem-erfgoed.nl/sites/default/files/field_attachments/report_verification_mission_feb_2017_java_seapublic_210217.pdf |title=Joint Verification of the location and condition of Hr.Ms. De Ruyter, Java and Kortenaer |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415203303/https://www.maritiem-erfgoed.nl/sites/default/files/field_attachments/report_verification_mission_feb_2017_java_seapublic_210217.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>