DTN News: Pentagon Publishes Report On China's Military After Delay

DTN News: Pentagon Publishes Report On China's Military After Delay

Source: DTN News / Xinhua

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - August 17, 2010: The U.S. Defense Department on Monday released a delayed annual report on China's military, with a slight change to the title indicating increased coverage of security developments in addition to its assessment of China's military power. The report routinely overlooks China's peaceful defense policy and ever increasing military openness, saying it sees only "modest improvements in the transparency of China's military and security affairs," and demanding more information. The report, which came after a delay of about five months, also alleges "uncertainties" remain as it tries to assess China's military intentions. "The limited transparency in China's military and security affairs enhances uncertainty and increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," says the report. The report, submitted to the Congress by the Pentagon annually pursuant to U.S. law since 2000, has drawn protest from China over its interfering nature, distortion of facts, and baseless speculations. China has been submitting annual reports to the United Nations on its military expenditure since 2007. It has also invited military representatives from many countries to observe its war games, conducted joint military exercises with its neighbors and countries including the United States. The Washington Post says the 83-page report, which was originally due out by early March, is more ambitious in scope as it includes a discussion of the Pentagon's view of China's broader strategy and U.S. officials' visions for relations with China. The newspaper quoted U.S. analyst David Finkelstein as saying that the report contains the message of Washington wanting to expand military exchanges.

Some analysts said the delay of the report, like that of the report by the Treasury on China's currency value, was obviously in line with their role of serving U.S. interests in playing down differences in bilateral relations. The report, as usual, interferes with the internal affairs of China by making willful comments on the situation across the Taiwan Straits. Beijing has "continued unabated" the military build-up near the Taiwan Straits, and that "the balance of cross-Strait military forces continues to shift in the mainland's favor," it says. China's economic achievements and technological progress have enabled the country to embark on a comprehensive transformation of its military, the report says. "Current trends in China's military capabilities are a major factor in changing East Asian military balances and could provide China with a force capable of conducting a range of military operations in Asia well beyond Taiwan," it said. The title of the report for this year is Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China, in contrast to the Military Power of the People's Republic of China over the past years. The Pentagon report acknowledges that the Chinese military has contributed to global peacekeeping and humanitarian operations and anti-piracy operation, calling for more military cooperation. "The pace and scope of China's military modernization have increased over the past decade, enabling China's armed forces to develop capabilities to contribute to the delivery of international public goods," it says. The United States welcomes these capabilities, and wants to work with China to develop them further, says the report.

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DTN News: US Military Acknowledges Keeping Tabs On Reporters' Work

DTN News: US Military Acknowledges Keeping Tabs On Reporters' Work *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - August 28, 2009: The US Army in Afghanistan admitted Thursday to keeping files on journalists and classifying reporting on the war as positive, negative and neutral, but insisted reporters had never been denied access on the basis of past reporting. The Pentagon distanced itself from the practices revealed by the newspaper Stars and Stripes. "A tool like this serves no purpose and for me doesn't provide any value," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. "As I've said before, the metric we use at the Department of Defense to rate a story is based on whether or not the story is accurate." US forces in Afghanistan acknowledged in a statement that it uses public relations group Rendon for "several analytic reports, to include characterization of specific topical stories/events as positive, negative or neutral, as well as whether media reporting is an accurate portrayal of the facts as we know them." "These reports do not 'rate' reporters or news outlets themselves, nor do we keep any reports on individual reporters other than personal information used in the accreditation process, i.e. name, passport or ID number, media outlet, etc....," a military statement said. Stars and Stripes, a publication funded by the Pentagon but with an independent editorial mandate, said the files on journalists were aimed at determining how to influence their reporting while embedded with a military unit. "We have used background information, which typically includes basic biographical information about the reporter and a snapshot of what they have been covering recently, to prepare leaders for interviews as any public affairs office might prepare for any media engagement," the army said. But it said the army "has never denied access to any reporter based upon their past stories." The news comes against the backdrop of an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan. A recent survey found that 51 percent of those Americans surveyed did not believe the war was worth fighting.

DTN News: Pakistan's (ISI) Intelligence Chief Says No War With India / Daily New Statements From Pakistan Apears To Appease USA Or Just Eyewash For...

DTN News: Pakistan's (ISI) Intelligence Chief Says No War With India / Daily New Statements From Pakistan Apears To Appease USA Or Just Eyewash For The World To Attract More Funds *Source: DTN News/ Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - January 7, 2009: Pakistan's intelligence chief said there will not be war with India over the Mumbai attacks and emphasized terrorism — not India — was the greatest threat to the country, according to a rare interview. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha also told German news magazine Der Spiegel that his powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency — thought to have a high degree of independence — was under the control of the recently elected civilian government. In this Aug. 27, 2008 photo released by the U.S. Department of Defense, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen and Navy Rear Adm. Scott van Buskirk, from left, talk with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, center, and Director General, Military Operations, Major Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, on the flight deck aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Gulf. Pasha, the new chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, oversaw military offensives against militants in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal areas. The interview appeared on the magazine's Web site on Tuesday. India blames Pakistani militants for the November attacks on targets in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people. The charges have raised tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, which have fought three wars in 60 years. On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Pakistani state agencies must have had a hand in the attacks, charges dismissed by Islamabad as "propaganda." Pasha told the magazine that "there will not be war." "We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India, both now and in general," he said. Pasha seldom gives interviews to reporters, and one of his aides said Wednesday that the comments made in early December were meant to be off the record. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. India has said the gunmen had connections to the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba and gave Islamabad evidence it said proves those accusations. Lashkar is widely believed to be a 1980s creation of the agency Pasha heads in order to pressure India over the disputed area of Kashmir. But Pasha said Pakistan was focused on fighting terrorism, not fomenting it. "We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds," Pasha was quoted as saying. "We know full well that terror is our enemy, not India." Pakistan is under pressure to crack down on militants in its northwest, from which the Taliban is believed to plan attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, at least four police were killed in the volatile region, according to a local official. Mayor Afzal Khan said another three police officers went missing after insurgents attacked their checkpoint in Hangu district. The motive for the attack was unclear however. Hangu has in the past witnessed sectarian violence, and the attack occurred as minority Shiite Muslims prepared to mark Ashura, a key holy day. Pasha's ISI has played a powerful role in Pakistan ever since the 1980s when the agency worked with Islamic militants to force the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Many believe the agency has maintained connections with those groups, and New Delhi has accused the agency of being involved in attacks against India in recent years. The agency has sometimes been called a "state within a state" because of its behind-the-scenes role in making or breaking governments. Pasha said he supported the current government, which took over in March following more than eight years of military dictatorship but is regarded as relatively weak. "It is completely clear to the army chief and I that this government must succeed. Otherwise we will have a lot of problems in this country," he said. "Anyone who does not support this democratic government today simply does not understand the current situation. I report regularly to the president and take orders from him," he added.