NEWTOWN, Conn. - January 27, 2009: Senior U.S. officials have purportedly expressed doubts regarding Ukraine's ability to acquire ex-U.S. Navy ships under a program originally envisioned to boost Ukrainian naval capacity.
On January 24, Interfax news agency quoted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor as expressing doubts on Kiev's purchase of U.S. surplus vessels. During a press conference, Taylor noted that the U.S. Department of Defense and Ukrainian Defense Ministry had begun negotiations, but that those negotiations were initiated before the onset of the current economic crisis engulfing Ukraine. Taylor added that, "U.S. naval ships and their equipment are very expensive to maintain, and therefore he does not believe these negotiations will result in a decision in the nearest future."
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service originally reported on October 8, that Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the possibility Ukraine taking possession of secondhand U.S. naval vessels.
Gates said that the American government was considering a possibility of the turning over of those ships to the Ukrainian Navy within the framework of military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. He added, however, that the issue required the support of the U.S. Congress. According to his information, the next round of consultations on the problem on the level of defense ministries of the two countries will be held in San Diego, California, the Ukrainian defense ministry press service reports.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Ukrainian Purchase of ex-USN Vessels in Doubt
Ukrainian Purchase of ex-USN Vessels in Doubt
(NSI News Source Info) 
NEWTOWN, Conn. - January 27, 2009: Senior U.S. officials have purportedly expressed doubts regarding Ukraine's ability to acquire ex-U.S. Navy ships under a program originally envisioned to boost Ukrainian naval capacity.
On January 24, Interfax news agency quoted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor as expressing doubts on Kiev's purchase of U.S. surplus vessels. During a press conference, Taylor noted that the U.S. Department of Defense and Ukrainian Defense Ministry had begun negotiations, but that those negotiations were initiated before the onset of the current economic crisis engulfing Ukraine. Taylor added that, "U.S. naval ships and their equipment are very expensive to maintain, and therefore he does not believe these negotiations will result in a decision in the nearest future."
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service originally reported on October 8, that Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the possibility Ukraine taking possession of secondhand U.S. naval vessels.
Gates said that the American government was considering a possibility of the turning over of those ships to the Ukrainian Navy within the framework of military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. He added, however, that the issue required the support of the U.S. Congress. According to his information, the next round of consultations on the problem on the level of defense ministries of the two countries will be held in San Diego, California, the Ukrainian defense ministry press service reports.
NEWTOWN, Conn. - January 27, 2009: Senior U.S. officials have purportedly expressed doubts regarding Ukraine's ability to acquire ex-U.S. Navy ships under a program originally envisioned to boost Ukrainian naval capacity.
On January 24, Interfax news agency quoted U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor as expressing doubts on Kiev's purchase of U.S. surplus vessels. During a press conference, Taylor noted that the U.S. Department of Defense and Ukrainian Defense Ministry had begun negotiations, but that those negotiations were initiated before the onset of the current economic crisis engulfing Ukraine. Taylor added that, "U.S. naval ships and their equipment are very expensive to maintain, and therefore he does not believe these negotiations will result in a decision in the nearest future."
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service originally reported on October 8, that Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the possibility Ukraine taking possession of secondhand U.S. naval vessels.
Gates said that the American government was considering a possibility of the turning over of those ships to the Ukrainian Navy within the framework of military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. He added, however, that the issue required the support of the U.S. Congress. According to his information, the next round of consultations on the problem on the level of defense ministries of the two countries will be held in San Diego, California, the Ukrainian defense ministry press service reports.
Malaysian Rescue Service Orders Two AW139s / Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Orders Two AW139s
Malaysian Rescue Service Orders Two AW139s / Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Orders Two AW139s
(NSI News Source Info) January 27, 2009: AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) has ordered two AW139 medium twin engine helicopters. These aircraft will be used to perform fire fighting, search and rescue, land reconnaissance and general support duties.
The AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium sized twin-engined helicopter manufactured by AgustaWestland. Originally designed and developed jointly by Agusta and Bell Helicopters and marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, Bell withdrew from the project, which was then renamed the AW139. The AgustaWestland AW149 is a medium-lift military helicopter being developed by AgustaWestland as an enlarged version of the AW139.
The contract also includes conversion training for aircrew and maintenance staff which will be undertaken prior to delivery of the aircraft in the first half of 2010.
The Bomba order for the AW139 follows the order placed by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency for three aircraft plus options in October 2008. The AW139s will supplement the two AgustaWestland AW109 Power helicopters that have been successfully operating with the Bomba since 2004.
The AW139, a new generation medium twin-turbine helicopter that has set new standards in the market, offers unmatched performance and safety levels and has the largest cabin in its class. State-of-the-art mission equipment and outstanding performance features enable the AW139 to accomplish the most demanding operations in the harshest weather and environmental conditions.
Thanks to its powerful engines, each rated at 1252 kW (1679 shp) for take-off, the AW139 is perfectly suited to carry out demanding missions in the hot and high climatic conditions experienced in Malaysia.
This order marks further success for the AW139 in the fire fighting market with orders having already been placed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the Gangwon Fire Department of Korea. The order book for the AW139 has now passed 430 aircraft with orders from over 100 customers located in over 40 countries.
Over 200 AW139s have now been delivered and are in service performing many applications including SAR, air ambulance, fire fighting, offshore transport, VIP/corporate transport, law enforcement, scheduled passenger transport and utility transport.
AgustaWestland Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of AgustaWestland, continues to play a major role in the Malaysian helicopter market expanding its presence and increasing its market share. In 2008 AgustaWestland Malaysia Sdn Bhd opened a new regional maintenance and support centre located at Kuala Lumpur’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in 2008, aimed at supporting the increasing AgustaWestland fleet and keeping closer to the growing number of customers in the region.
Boeing’s Vehicle-Mounted Laser Shoots Down UAV for First Time / Boeing Laser Avenger Shoots Down Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Tests
Boeing’s Vehicle-Mounted Laser Shoots Down UAV for First Time / Boeing Laser Avenger Shoots Down Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Tests
(NSI News Source Info) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - January 27, 2009: The Boeing Company has successfully demonstrated that a laser system mounted on an Avenger combat vehicle can shoot down a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) like those that increasingly threaten U.S. troops deployed in war zones. 
A laser mounted on an Avenger vehicle has shot down a UAV during a test, which Boeing says is a world first for a combat vehicle. (Boeing photo)
During tests last month at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Laser Avenger achieved its principal test objectives by using its advanced targeting system to acquire and track three small UAVs flying against a complex background of mountains and desert. The laser system also shot down one of the UAVs from an operationally relevant range. These tests mark the first time a combat vehicle has used a laser to shoot down a UAV.
Representatives of the U.S. Army's Cruise Missile Defense Systems project office observed the tests.
"Small UAVs armed with explosives or equipped with surveillance sensors are a growing threat on the battlefield," said Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing Directed Energy Systems. "Laser Avenger, unlike a conventional weapon, can fire its laser beam without creating missile exhaust or gun flashes that would reveal its position. As a result, Laser Avenger can neutralize these UAV threats while keeping our troops safe."
The tests follow a 2007 demonstration in which an earlier version of Laser Avenger neutralized improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) on the ground.
"We doubled the laser power; added sophisticated acquisition, tracking and pointing capability; and simplified and ruggedized the design," said Lee Gutheinz, Boeing program director for High-Energy Laser/Electro-Optical Systems. "Boeing developed and integrated these upgrades in less than a year, underscoring our ability to rapidly respond to warfighters' needs."
Laser Avenger integrates a directed energy weapon together with the kinetic weapons on the proven Avenger air defense system developed by Boeing Combat Systems in Huntsville, Ala. It is a Boeing-funded initiative to demonstrate that directed energy weapons are maturing and are relevant to today's battlefield.
Boeing leads the way in developing laser systems for a variety of U.S. Air Force and Army warfighter applications. These systems include the Airborne Laser, the Advanced Tactical Laser, the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator and the Tactical Relay Mirror System.
'Obama Gave Green Light To Pakistan Attacks'
'Obama Gave Green Light To Pakistan Attacks'
Author: Global Research
(NSI News Source Info) January 27, 2009: US commanders say they had consulted President Barack Obama before launching recent drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal belt near the Afghan border.
"Four days after assuming the presidency, he (Obama) was consulted by US commanders before they launched the two attacks," Guardian said Sunday.
The report comes after 22 people were killed in two separate US missile strikes on the Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan, on Friday. The attacks were the first since President Barack Obama took office Tuesday. 
Pakistani tribesmen show pieces of a missile in a house damaged by a suspected U.S. missile strike in Zharki village, near Miran Shah, the main town of Pakistan's tribal area along Afghanistan border, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009. Suspected U.S. missiles killed 18 people on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border, security officials said Friday, the first attacks on the al-Qaida stronghold since President Barack Obama took office.
Obama has said that he is prepared to bomb inside Pakistan if he gets relevant intelligence about the whereabouts of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
Obama earlier hinted at increased operations in Pakistan, saying he thought George W. Bush had made a mistake in switching to Iraq before completing the job against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Meanwhile Pakistan's foreign ministry said Saturday that it had told US that the attacks by unmanned aircraft were of its 'great concern'. "We maintain that these attacks are counterproductive and should be discontinued," it said in a statement. President Obama has not commented on the missile strikes. However, he has made the war in Afghanistan and the intertwined fight with al-Qaeda in Pakistan a foreign policy priority.
Obama has emphasized that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the central front in the US so-called war against terrorism. "Afghanistan and Pakistan are the central front in the America's war against terrorism and the deteriorating situation in the region poses a grave threat to the global security. It's an international challenge of the highest order. That's why we are pursuing a careful review of our policy," Obama said on Thursday.
The tribal regions along the shared border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have become a safe haven for militants after a US-led invasion in late 2001 toppled Taliban in Afghanistan and sent insurgents to border areas with Pakistan.
The US and its western allies have accused Pakistan of 'not doing enough' to prevent attacks on supply routes as well as cross-border operations carried out by insurgents against foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Pentagon has used the allegation as a pretext to launch drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal regions -- a move that has increased tension between Islamabad and Washington and has triggered anti-American sentiments among the Pakistani people.
Over 500 people -- suspected militants as well as civilians -- have been killed in such attacks, which started under the Bush administration.
Pakistan says that the drone attacks undermine the country's sovereignty and trigger public anger.
Pakistani Taliban Turn Honeymoon Spot Into Slaughterhouse
Pakistani Taliban Turn Honeymoon Spot Into Slaughterhouse
By Saeed Shah McClatchy Newspapers
(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - January 27, 2009: The Pakistani
Taliban dumped the 27 bodies at a crossroads in the district capital of Swat, all of people whom the militant Islamists accused of having led "un-Islamic" lives. Around the body of a dancer, the killers threw banknotes and DVD recordings of her performances.
Swat, a 3,500-square-mile valley, was Pakistan's favorite honeymoon spot, a mountainous area filled with fruit orchards and rushing streams. Now it's under a reign of terror that a yearlong army operation has proved unable to lift. Most of Swat is now under the extremists' control, locals say.
The former tourist destination with a population of 1.7 million lies in the North West Frontier Province 100 miles from Islamabad. Swat is a "settled" area of Pakistan, not the lawless tribal area along the Afghan border, which has provided sanctuary for al Qaida. Its near-complete takeover by militants is another sign of the serious deterioration of civil authority in Pakistan, an enormous challenge for the elected government of this nuclear-armed country and for President Barack Obama's new administration.
Earlier this month, the Islamic extremists banned schooling for girls and blew up eight more schools, six in Mingora, which had been thought to be the safest place in Swat. The insurgents have destroyed at least 186 government schools, mainly for girls but also a number for boys, according to Pakistani officials. That's deprived 80,000 children of education and raised questions as to whether any parents in Swat will send their children to class now.
This week, the Swat Taliban issued a list of 47 people whom they ordered to appear before their "court" or face unstated consequences. 
In this picture released exclusively to Reuters on January 17, 2009, Taliban militants are seen with their weapons in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan January 16, 2009. Taliban militants, fighting to overthrow the Western-backed Afghan government and drive out foreign troops, have launched hundreds of suicide attacks in the last two years, but some 80 percent of the victims are Afghan civilians. While Taliban influence has spread from their traditional heartlands in the south and east to areas closer to the capital, there were fewer attacks inside Kabul last year than in 2007 with many more police checkpoints throughout the city. Picture taken January 16, 2009.
"If Swat is surrendered, it will become a safe haven for militants, who will threaten the rest of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India," said Hasham Baber, a senior member of the Awami National Party, which runs the provincial government. "The army is terrorizing the people of Swat; the Taliban is terrorizing them."
A charismatic preacher called Mullah Fazlullah leads the militants and broadcasts his strictures daily over his radio station. Women aren't allowed to go shopping. The Taliban run their own system of justice, with their own courts, and carry out public whippings and other punishments. They execute open critics, denying them even court hearings.
The Pakistani army launched an operation against the Taliban in November 2007, but after initial gains the Taliban pushed the army back. Some 12,000 troops are deployed in Swat. Residents accuse the army of failing to attack the militants' headquarters, not holding ground, shelling civilian areas and not even closing the radio channel. Checkpoints, manned by masked extremists, crisscross the valley unchallenged.
The government has said that school will start again March 1 after the winter vacation. Teachers fear for their lives, however, and those of their students.
"We will not open the schools unless total peace is restored, in the whole of Swat," said Ziauddin Yousafzai, the former president of the Swat schools association. "The Taliban is closing schools at gunpoint, and the government is telling us to open them at gunpoint."
Elected representatives have fled Swat, even town council members. Police officers, the target of many suicide attacks, have deserted, with the force down in strength to 295 from 1,725, said Shaukat Yousafzai, the top state official in Swat.
"Things are really deteriorating," Yousafzai said. "The police just protect some of the main offices now. They are not fit for tackling an insurgency. This is not a law and order issue."
The army has put the blame on civilians, and it complained that the provincial government stopped the military operation last April for two months while it tried to forge a doomed peace deal with the Taliban. That allowed Fazlullah's men to rearm and gain a stranglehold over the population, said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the army's chief spokesman.
"Half of the police has bolted from Swat, by name only the civil administration is there and what about the local leaders? There is a vacuum on the other (civilian) side," Abbas said.
Taliban dumped the 27 bodies at a crossroads in the district capital of Swat, all of people whom the militant Islamists accused of having led "un-Islamic" lives. Around the body of a dancer, the killers threw banknotes and DVD recordings of her performances.
Swat, a 3,500-square-mile valley, was Pakistan's favorite honeymoon spot, a mountainous area filled with fruit orchards and rushing streams. Now it's under a reign of terror that a yearlong army operation has proved unable to lift. Most of Swat is now under the extremists' control, locals say.
The former tourist destination with a population of 1.7 million lies in the North West Frontier Province 100 miles from Islamabad. Swat is a "settled" area of Pakistan, not the lawless tribal area along the Afghan border, which has provided sanctuary for al Qaida. Its near-complete takeover by militants is another sign of the serious deterioration of civil authority in Pakistan, an enormous challenge for the elected government of this nuclear-armed country and for President Barack Obama's new administration.
Earlier this month, the Islamic extremists banned schooling for girls and blew up eight more schools, six in Mingora, which had been thought to be the safest place in Swat. The insurgents have destroyed at least 186 government schools, mainly for girls but also a number for boys, according to Pakistani officials. That's deprived 80,000 children of education and raised questions as to whether any parents in Swat will send their children to class now.
This week, the Swat Taliban issued a list of 47 people whom they ordered to appear before their "court" or face unstated consequences. In this picture released exclusively to Reuters on January 17, 2009, Taliban militants are seen with their weapons in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan January 16, 2009. Taliban militants, fighting to overthrow the Western-backed Afghan government and drive out foreign troops, have launched hundreds of suicide attacks in the last two years, but some 80 percent of the victims are Afghan civilians. While Taliban influence has spread from their traditional heartlands in the south and east to areas closer to the capital, there were fewer attacks inside Kabul last year than in 2007 with many more police checkpoints throughout the city. Picture taken January 16, 2009.
"If Swat is surrendered, it will become a safe haven for militants, who will threaten the rest of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India," said Hasham Baber, a senior member of the Awami National Party, which runs the provincial government. "The army is terrorizing the people of Swat; the Taliban is terrorizing them."
A charismatic preacher called Mullah Fazlullah leads the militants and broadcasts his strictures daily over his radio station. Women aren't allowed to go shopping. The Taliban run their own system of justice, with their own courts, and carry out public whippings and other punishments. They execute open critics, denying them even court hearings.
The Pakistani army launched an operation against the Taliban in November 2007, but after initial gains the Taliban pushed the army back. Some 12,000 troops are deployed in Swat. Residents accuse the army of failing to attack the militants' headquarters, not holding ground, shelling civilian areas and not even closing the radio channel. Checkpoints, manned by masked extremists, crisscross the valley unchallenged.
The government has said that school will start again March 1 after the winter vacation. Teachers fear for their lives, however, and those of their students.
"We will not open the schools unless total peace is restored, in the whole of Swat," said Ziauddin Yousafzai, the former president of the Swat schools association. "The Taliban is closing schools at gunpoint, and the government is telling us to open them at gunpoint."
Elected representatives have fled Swat, even town council members. Police officers, the target of many suicide attacks, have deserted, with the force down in strength to 295 from 1,725, said Shaukat Yousafzai, the top state official in Swat.
"Things are really deteriorating," Yousafzai said. "The police just protect some of the main offices now. They are not fit for tackling an insurgency. This is not a law and order issue."
The army has put the blame on civilians, and it complained that the provincial government stopped the military operation last April for two months while it tried to forge a doomed peace deal with the Taliban. That allowed Fazlullah's men to rearm and gain a stranglehold over the population, said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the army's chief spokesman.
"Half of the police has bolted from Swat, by name only the civil administration is there and what about the local leaders? There is a vacuum on the other (civilian) side," Abbas said.NATO, Russian Envoys Ending Cold War Over Georgia
NATO, Russian Envoys Ending Cold War Over Georgia
(NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS - January 27, 2009: NATO and Russia discussed new supply routes for alliance troops in Afghanistan in a meeting Monday 
that helped to mend ties suspended after Russia's August war with Georgia.
NATO is urgently seeking an alternative line through Russia to supply the 62,000 Western troops currently in Afghanistan and the 30,000 reinforcements U.S. President Barack Obama intends to deploy this year. Existing routes through Pakistan are becoming precarious amid deteriorating security.
President Dmitry Medvedev has said his government is ready to allow the United States and others to cross Russian territory with cargo intended for coalition forces in Afghanistan.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said after the two-hour meeting that the envoys from Russia and NATO's 26 nations had focused on areas of common interest, "with Afghanistan coming up frequently."
"There was a very positive discussion, a very positive spirit, with no recriminations or any desire to dredge up past disagreements," he said.
that helped to mend ties suspended after Russia's August war with Georgia.
NATO is urgently seeking an alternative line through Russia to supply the 62,000 Western troops currently in Afghanistan and the 30,000 reinforcements U.S. President Barack Obama intends to deploy this year. Existing routes through Pakistan are becoming precarious amid deteriorating security.
President Dmitry Medvedev has said his government is ready to allow the United States and others to cross Russian territory with cargo intended for coalition forces in Afghanistan.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said after the two-hour meeting that the envoys from Russia and NATO's 26 nations had focused on areas of common interest, "with Afghanistan coming up frequently."
"There was a very positive discussion, a very positive spirit, with no recriminations or any desire to dredge up past disagreements," he said.Despite sharp disagreements in the past over NATO expansion and U.S. plans for missile defense, Moscow has repeatedly expressed willingness to help the war effort in Afghanistan. It has warned that any return to power by Afghanistan's Taliban extremists would destabilize Central Asia and endanger Russia's own security.
Because Russia does not border Afghanistan, NATO also is negotiating with several Central Asian states to secure transit rights to Afghanistan's northern frontier.
Ties between NATO and a resurgent Russia were suspended following the five-day Georgian war in August. NATO nations accused Moscow of using disproportionate force to eject Georgian forces that had shelled and occupied the capital of the breakaway province of South Ossetia, which has run its own affairs with Russian support since the early 1990s.
The United States and some Eastern European nations have blamed Moscow for causing the bloodshed, but Moscow says its military actions were defensive and in response to Georgian aggression.
As months of angry exchanges subsided, NATO foreign ministers agreed last month to resume high-level contacts gradually. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer last month met Dmitry Rogozin, Moscow's ambassador to the alliance, as a first step.
Monday's talks may pave the way for a formal meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, a consultative panel set up in 2002 to improve relations between the former Cold War foes.
Appathurai said the next step in the re-engagement process probably would be for de Hoop Scheffer to meet Russian leaders. This could happen as early as next month, when a Russian government delegation will attend the annual security conference in Munich, Gogozin said.
Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan rely on the winding, mountainous road from Pakistan's port of Karachi through the Khyber Pass for delivery of up to 75% of their fuel, food and other supplies.
Militants have repeatedly attacked supply convoys heading into Afghanistan, where fighting is escalating seven years after a U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime.
A secondary route through Pakistan's western province of Baluchistan also runs through some of the most Taliban-infested regions of Afghanistan.
"NATO needs supplementary routes (through) Central Asia, an area where Russia is czar," Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based think tank, said in a report released Monday. "The moves are aggressive, because Washington needs to lock down a new supply route ... now rather than later."
Several individual NATO nations — including France, Germany and Canada — already use Russia to bring non-lethal supplies to their contingents in Afghanistan. Last week the United States reached a deal with Russia to begin using that route too. Russia does not permit NATO to move weapons and munitions through its territory.
How Obama Should Respond To China’s Growing Military Might
How Obama Should Respond To China’s Growing Military Might
Author: Jonathan Holslag is Head of research at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies (BICCS)
(NSI News Source Info) January 27, 2009: China’s new Defence White Paper confronts the fresh administration in Washington with an important strategic dilemma. It will have to choose between backing Taiwan as a regional military balancer against China, and working with China as a partner in global security affairs.
In this Jan. 12, 2009 file photo, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers parade during training at a military base in Xuchang city, central China's Henan province. China said Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, that its overall security situation had improved over the past year, although it remained alert to separatism in Tibet and Xinjiang and firmly opposed to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
The second option is America’s best pick. But while showing restraint on Taiwan, it should pursue an inclusive balancing strategy that takes the interests of Asia’s other powers into account. The 2008 Defence White Paper, issued earlier this week, reiterates China’s ambition to flex its military muscle globally. China’s growing economic interests abroad have rendered it vulnerable to a wide range of security threats. Terrorists in Pakistan, pirates in the Indian Ocean, and rebels in Africa are raising the costs. In the past few years dozens of Chinese workers have been killed in violent incidents abroad. Vital economic lifelines are endangered, and Beijing knows that it should no longer count on an overstretched superpower to protect them. The free ride is over.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that the paper highlights the capability to deploy warships in “distant waters” or to engage its Air Force in long-range “strategic projection operations.” The recent decision to dispatch three vessels in the Gulf of Aden was an important milestone. Also in the coming years, China will continue to modernise its armed forces in order to take over a part of America’s role as defender of global goods. For the US, this forms an opportunity rather than a threat.
The combat against terrorism, stability in Africa, the build-up of Afghanistan, maritime security … these shared interests are strong enough to bend China’s security ambitions into joint efforts. Both China and the US have showed their willingness to explore such synergy. The Pentagon invited the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to observe its Cobra Gold exercises in Southeast Asia. It even encouraged China to participate to the UN-backed patrolling in the Gulf of Aden. The Chinese Ministry of Defence confirmed its interest in more international cooperation during last year’s Strategic Dialogue Meeting in Beijing.Yet, Beijing feels uncomfortable with America reaching out one hand, while supporting its archenemy with the other. As long as Washington continues to support Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier, it shouldn’t expect that Beijing is going to turn its military go-global strategy into a cooperative one. Obama’s team should therefore continue Defence Secretary Gates’ policy of restraint, and give a clear signal to Beijing that it will not supply major arms systems to Taiwan as long as long as relations across the Straits continue to improve. At the same time, Washington needs to be sensitive to concerns of countries like Australia, Japan and India. They might see closer cooperation with China at the expense of their strategic interests.
Inclusive balancing is the way out. Engaging Asia should not be a choice between with or against China. Washington needs to engage all four regional powers simultaneously. At the tactical level, Washington could propose a joint searchand- rescue operation with China, Australia, India, and Japan in the Pacific Ocean, as well as annually rotating manoeuvres on land, and closer cooperation in the framework of – guess who’s missing here - UN Peacekeeping Operations.
An A-5 annual summit, preferably in the framework of the Asian Regional Forum (ARF), should boost coordination at the strategic level.Sustained US leadership in Asia requires converting aspirations into cooperation, while at the same time maintaining the checks-and-balances between the regional powers.
In this Jan. 12, 2009 file photo, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers parade during training at a military base in Xuchang city, central China's Henan province. China said Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, that its overall security situation had improved over the past year, although it remained alert to separatism in Tibet and Xinjiang and firmly opposed to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
The second option is America’s best pick. But while showing restraint on Taiwan, it should pursue an inclusive balancing strategy that takes the interests of Asia’s other powers into account. The 2008 Defence White Paper, issued earlier this week, reiterates China’s ambition to flex its military muscle globally. China’s growing economic interests abroad have rendered it vulnerable to a wide range of security threats. Terrorists in Pakistan, pirates in the Indian Ocean, and rebels in Africa are raising the costs. In the past few years dozens of Chinese workers have been killed in violent incidents abroad. Vital economic lifelines are endangered, and Beijing knows that it should no longer count on an overstretched superpower to protect them. The free ride is over.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that the paper highlights the capability to deploy warships in “distant waters” or to engage its Air Force in long-range “strategic projection operations.” The recent decision to dispatch three vessels in the Gulf of Aden was an important milestone. Also in the coming years, China will continue to modernise its armed forces in order to take over a part of America’s role as defender of global goods. For the US, this forms an opportunity rather than a threat.
The combat against terrorism, stability in Africa, the build-up of Afghanistan, maritime security … these shared interests are strong enough to bend China’s security ambitions into joint efforts. Both China and the US have showed their willingness to explore such synergy. The Pentagon invited the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to observe its Cobra Gold exercises in Southeast Asia. It even encouraged China to participate to the UN-backed patrolling in the Gulf of Aden. The Chinese Ministry of Defence confirmed its interest in more international cooperation during last year’s Strategic Dialogue Meeting in Beijing.Yet, Beijing feels uncomfortable with America reaching out one hand, while supporting its archenemy with the other. As long as Washington continues to support Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier, it shouldn’t expect that Beijing is going to turn its military go-global strategy into a cooperative one. Obama’s team should therefore continue Defence Secretary Gates’ policy of restraint, and give a clear signal to Beijing that it will not supply major arms systems to Taiwan as long as long as relations across the Straits continue to improve. At the same time, Washington needs to be sensitive to concerns of countries like Australia, Japan and India. They might see closer cooperation with China at the expense of their strategic interests.
Inclusive balancing is the way out. Engaging Asia should not be a choice between with or against China. Washington needs to engage all four regional powers simultaneously. At the tactical level, Washington could propose a joint searchand- rescue operation with China, Australia, India, and Japan in the Pacific Ocean, as well as annually rotating manoeuvres on land, and closer cooperation in the framework of – guess who’s missing here - UN Peacekeeping Operations.
An A-5 annual summit, preferably in the framework of the Asian Regional Forum (ARF), should boost coordination at the strategic level.Sustained US leadership in Asia requires converting aspirations into cooperation, while at the same time maintaining the checks-and-balances between the regional powers.
Thailand Accused Of Dumping Refugees At Sea Without Water / Photos Show Refugees Cast Adrift By Thai Military
Thailand Accused Of Dumping Refugees At Sea Without Water / Photos Show Refugees Cast Adrift By Thai Military
(NSI News Source Info) January 27, 2009: THE first pictures have emerged showing hundreds of refugees who had fled Burma being towed into international waters on the order of the Thai Army and abandoned at sea.
The Herald reported last week that about 1000 refugees had been taken into international waters by Thai Army boats and abandoned with barely a day's supply of rice and water.
The new photos, supplied to the television network CNN, are believed to have been taken by someone involved in the operation. They show refugees being towed on a small, overcrowded boat by the Thai Army before being cut loose and abandoned.
CNN reported that up to 190 refugees, mainly Rohingya Muslims from western Burma, were crowded onto a single boat.
The Thai Army has been executing a policy of detaining refugees on the island of Koh Sai Baed, before casting them adrift in unpowered vessels.
About 500 men are now missing and feared drowned, and Thailand faces the possibility of bodies washing up on popular tourist beaches in Phang Nga and Phuket.
Since media reports began circulating about the mistreatment of the refugees, Thailand has faced international condemnation, and the Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has promised an investigation.
Shocked tourists holidaying in Thai coastal resorts have provided to international newspapers, including the Herald, photographs of refugees lined up on beaches at gunpoint.
Mr Vejjajiva had said the Rohingya boat people would be "pushed out of the country" as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported last week.
The officer at the centre of the controversy, Colonel Manat Kongpat, of the Thai Army's Internal Security Operations Command has reportedly denied the allegations, saying the refugees were given food and water and helped on their way after villagers repaired their boats.
The Thai Army has been executing a policy of detaining refugees on the island of Koh Sai Baed, before casting them adrift in unpowered vessels.
About 500 men are now missing and feared drowned, and Thailand faces the possibility of bodies washing up on popular tourist beaches in Phang Nga and Phuket.
Since media reports began circulating about the mistreatment of the refugees, Thailand has faced international condemnation, and the Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has promised an investigation.
Shocked tourists holidaying in Thai coastal resorts have provided to international newspapers, including the Herald, photographs of refugees lined up on beaches at gunpoint.
Mr Vejjajiva had said the Rohingya boat people would be "pushed out of the country" as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported last week.
The officer at the centre of the controversy, Colonel Manat Kongpat, of the Thai Army's Internal Security Operations Command has reportedly denied the allegations, saying the refugees were given food and water and helped on their way after villagers repaired their boats.Pakistan: JF-17X Stealth Fighter
Pakistan: JF-17X Stealth Fighter
(NSI News Source Info) Source; Tempur - January 27, 2009: In what is
seen as a counter to India’s effort to jointly develop the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with Russia’s Sukhoi Aircraft Corp, Pakistan’s Kamra-based Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corp (CAC) last October inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop an advanced, stealthy, single-seat and single-engined derivative of the JF-17 Thunder fourth-generation light multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) that is already being co-developed by PAC and CAC.
seen as a counter to India’s effort to jointly develop the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with Russia’s Sukhoi Aircraft Corp, Pakistan’s Kamra-based Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corp (CAC) last October inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop an advanced, stealthy, single-seat and single-engined derivative of the JF-17 Thunder fourth-generation light multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) that is already being co-developed by PAC and CAC. Consequently, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is expected to induct only 100 JF-17s into service between this year and 2014, and subsequently switch over to the acquisition of another 150 JF-17-derived fifth-generation stealthy MRCAs between 2015 and 2025.
Present plans call for the latter MRCA to be powered by SNECMA Moteurs’ M88-3 twin-shaft bypass turbofan, incorporate a digital glass cockpit and open-architecture avionics suite, and use SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems’ Vixen 500E X-band multi-mode active phased-array radar, or AESA, an integrated electronic warfare/defensive aids suite being developed by China’s CETC, along with a helmet-mounted sighting-cum-cueing system for which systems from THALES, BAE Systems and Denel Aerospace are being evaluated.
The M88 turbofan for this aircraft will have variable camber inlet guide vanes, while its high-pressure compressor will have a sixth stage, and its exhaust nozzle will be of the ejector type. The turbofan will deliver 50kN (11,250lb) of dry thrust and 75kN (17,000lb) with afterburning. The primary offensive armament to be carried by this aircraft will be two underwing-mounted Hatf-8 (also called ‘Raad’ or ‘thunder’ in Arabic) air-launched cruise missile, which has a range of 350km.
For air combat engagements, the stealthy MRCA will be armed with three types of air-to-air missiles: 60km-range PL-12 beyond visual range missile; 15km-range PL-13 within visual range missile; and PL-14 ramjet-powered 100km-range missile. The latter two have been developed by China in cooperation with South Africa’s Denel Aerospace.
In contrast, the JF-17, which is due to enter service late next year, is a light MRCA that will be eventually replace the PAF’s existing CAC-built F-7P Skybolt and F-7MG light MRCAs...
India Goes For 'Urgent' Purchase Of Anti-Tank Missiles
India Goes For 'Urgent' Purchase Of Anti-Tank Missiles
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - January 27, 2009: With tensions with Pakistan yet to abate and the indigenous "Nag'' missile still not operational, the Army has gone in for an "urgent
order'' of 4,100 French-origin Milan-2T anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).
Defence ministry sources said the Rs 592-crore order for 4,100 Milan-2T missiles, pending for quite some time, was cleared after 26/11, with the government finally fast-tracking several military procurement plans. 
MILAN is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line-Of-Sight) missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the target to guide the missile. The MILAN can be equipped with a MIRA thermal sight, to give it night-firing ability.
Though tanks are slowly losing their relevance in the modern-day battlefield, and chances of face-to-face armoured confrontations diminishing, they will continue to play a critical role in the India-Pakistan context.
Both India and Pakistan, who share a long land border, are currently reorganising their mechanised forces to achieve strategic mobility and high-volume firepower for rapid thrusts into enemy territory.
India, of course, has plans to progressively induct as many as 1,657 Russian-origin T-90S main-battle tanks (MBTs), apart from the ongoing upgradation of its T-72 fleet.
But with Pakistan now looking to procure T-84 MBTs from Ukraine to bolster its already strong fleet of T-80UD, Al-Khalid and other tanks, India also wants its infantry battalions to have potent anti-armour capabilities. This can be gauged from the fact that the latest order for 4,100 "advanced'' Milan-2T missiles with "tandem warheads'' to replenish the Army's dwindling ATGM stock comes barely a few months after the Rs 1,380-crore contract for a staggering 15,000 Konkurs-M missiles.
Defence PSU Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), incidentally, manufactures variants of the second-generation 2-km-range Milan and 4-km-range Konkurs ATGMs, under licence from French and Russian companies, at around Rs 4.50 lakh per unit. As for the third-generation Nag ATGM, with a 4-km strike range, Army has already placed an initial order for 443 missiles and 13 Namicas (Nag missile tracked carriers).
But the Nag is still to become fully operational almost two decades after it was first tested. DRDO contends that Phase-I of Nag's user-trials were successfully completed last month, with Phase-II now slated for May-June. "Pre-production of Nag is underway at BDL. It's is a fire-and-forget missile, with potent top-attack capability to hit a tank's vulnerable upper portion like the gun turret,'' said an official.
Moreover, Nag's range will be extended to over 7-km in its airborne version named "Helina'', to be fitted on "Dhruv'' Advanced Light Helicopters, each configured to carry eight missiles in two launchers. Incidentally, Nag is the only "core missile system'' of India's original Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), launched way back in 1983, whose development work is yet to be completed.
The IGMDP was "closed'' in December 2007 after DRDO declared development work on all other missiles ― Agni, Prithvi, Akash and Trishul ― was over. While work on "strategic'' nuclear-capable missiles like Agni-III (3,500-km range) and Agni-V (over 5,000-km) is being "undertaken in-house'', India is now increasingly look at foreign collaboration in other armament projects to cut delays.
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