Why are modifiers allowed for a package when they don't seem to do anything?

Question

I can declare the following package with modifiers but it doesn't seem to have any effect on anything:

private public protected static final package com.stackoverflow.mangodrunk

// ...
class Whatever {
    // ...
}  

So my question is, does adding a modifier before a package decleration do anything and why would it be allowed by the compiler?

Update: Seems to be an issue with the compiler bundled with Eclipse, as others have mentioned this is a compiler error using Sun's JDK.

Answer 1

They're not. Which compiler are you using?

$ javac com/stackoverflow/mangodrunk/Whatever.java

com/stackoverflow/mangodrunk/Whatever.java:1: class, interface, or enum expected
private public protected static final package com.stackoverflow.mangodrunk;
                                      ^
1 error

Answer 2

According to the JLS, the only thing that can precede package is an annotation.

PackageDeclaration:
        Annotationsopt package PackageName ;

But an annotation looks like this (full grammar omitted for brevity):

NormalAnnotation:
        @ TypeName ( ElementValuePairsopt )

So your compiler should not be allowing standard access modifiers.

Source: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/third_edition/html/packages.html