GETTY HMS Exeter (pic), HMS Electra and HMS Encounter were sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942

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HMS Exeter, HMS Electra and HMS Encounter were sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942 along with the crews on board. But 75 years later the vessels, which were destroyed by the Japanese, have now vanished. British officials responded angrily to claims that war graves have been tampered with, telling the Indonesian government they condemned the “unauthorised disturbance of any wreck containing human remains”.

However, Indonesia has denied any involvement in the missing vessels - which some fear could have been dug up for scrap metal. Two more Dutch vessels are also missing while a third has had parts taken from it. HMNLS De Ruyter and HMNLS Java have disappeared completely while HMNLS Kortenaer has been partly removed.

NSWwrecks Scan of the sea floor shows where one of the vessels once lay

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The Dutch defence ministry said in a statement the relics had “seemingly gone completely missing” and confirmed an investigation has been launched. It added:"The desecration of a war grave is a serious offence.” Theo Vleugels, director of the Dutch War Graves Foundation, said of the wrecks' disappearance: “The people who died there should be left in peace.”

GETTY Crowds at the quayside cheer HMS Exeter as she arrives in Plymouth in 1940