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Energy Engagement: Turkish warplanes intercept Israeli jet violating Turkish Cyprus airspace

Energy Engagement: Turkish warplanes intercept Israeli jet violating Turkish Cyprus airspace

TURKEY accused Israel on Thursday of violating the airspace of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus in a controversial oil and gas exploration area.

The Israeli aircraft “violated” the northern Cyprus’s airspace five times in Monday’s incident which saw Turkish fighter jets chase out the intruder, the army command said in a statement.

The airspace violations reportedly occured between 11:05 a.m. and 12:49 p. m., and lasted a total of eigth minutes.

It gave no other details about the incident nor the type of Israeli plane involved in the alleged incursion over the breakaway statelet, which is recognized only by Ankara.

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PLA ships seen testing drones in Pacific Ocean

PLA ships seen testing drones in Pacific Ocean

Japan says more Chinese naval ships have been seen near Okinawa, with some staging drills involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) able to carry missiles and conduct surveillance that analysts say is crucial for China to expand its maritime power.

The Joint Staff Office of the Japanese Defence Ministry said the country’s maritime defence force on Monday morning spotted three Chinese ships – two Type 054A multi-role warships and one Dongdiao 232 electronic surveillance ship – going through the Okinawa Miyako Strait on their way to the East China Sea.

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US/Australia Cocos Islands spy plan

US/Australia Cocos Islands spy plan

DEFENCE plans to develop the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean as a base for Australian and US spy drones and aircraft run counter to assurances Canberra has given the United Nations, one of Australia’s most senior foreign policy figures has warned.

Australia promised it would not ”militarise” the islands when persuading key nations at the world body not to oppose the transfer of the former British possession to Australian sovereignty, the former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Richard Woolcott, said.

The recent Defence Force Posture Review suggested Defence consider upgrading the Cocos Islands airfield to support the new P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft likely to be acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force.

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S. Korea, China to cooperate on Pyongyang GPS jamming

S. Korea, China to cooperate on Pyongyang GPS jamming

South President Lee Myung-bak and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao agreed to cooperate on devising measures to address North Korea’s jamming of satellite traffic navigation signals during their talks here on Monday.

The leaders exchanged their views on the safety of passenger flight operations in South Korea, China and Japan, said Kim Tae-hyo, senior presidential secretary for national security.

In recent weeks, hundreds of aircraft and ships in South Korea have been affected by Global Position System disruptions, which Seoul authorities claim were caused by the North’s electric jamming waves.

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China military paper warns officers against ‘Western’ plotting

China military paper warns officers against ‘Western’ plotting

China’s top military newspaper warned officers on Tuesday to remain the ruling Communist Party’s “most loyal” defenders in the face of what it called Western plotting, describing recent cases of ill-discipline and corruption as a “profound warning”.

The commentary in the Liberation Army Daily did not specify what problems might have prompted the unusually blunt warning over laxity, waste and abuses in the Chinese military, but the Communist Party is wrestling with scandals ahead of a power succession later this year.

Its leaders appear determined to ensure that the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) remains the ultimate shield of their authority.

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“NATO plans to heighten tensions with Russia”

“NATO plans to heighten tensions with Russia”

NATO plans to upgrade the U.S. estimated 180 tactical nuclear weapons in Western Europe will only heighten tensions with Russia.

This is according to European Leadership Network (ELN), a thinktank supported by former British defense ministers.
The ELN experts believe that the NATO plans are unnecessary, expensive and likely to exacerbate already difficult relations with Russia.

The Alliance is preparing to replace “dumb” free-fall nuclear bombs and ageing delivery aircraft with precision-guided weapons that would be carried by U.S. F35 strike aircraft.

The report was written by former arms control adviser to the U.S. mission at NATO headquarters in Brussels Ted Seay.

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Russia seeks India, Pakistan to join SCO

Russia seeks India, Pakistan to join SCO

Russia has given a call to speed up the process of India and Pakistan’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation, RIA Novosti reported.

The call was given by Russia’s acting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov while participating in a meeting of foreign ministers of the SCO member states in Beijing Friday.

He also said delaying the decision on their membership was “counterproductive”.

The SCO, set up in 2001, includes Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

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Winds of war between Beijing and Manila blowing across the South China Sea

Winds of war between Beijing and Manila blowing across the South China Sea

In their public statements, Manila and Beijing are seemingly stoking the winds of war blowing across the South China Sea over disputed islands in which other Asia-Pacific nations, including the United States, have a stake.

Beijing warned yesterday that it was ready to respond to any escalation of a tense, month-long standoff with the Philippines at Scarborough Shoal, a reef between Luzon Island and Zhongsha Islands.

“The Chinese side has … made all preparations to respond to any escalation of the situation by the Philippine side,” Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying said after summoning Alex Chua, chargé d’affaires at the Philippines Embassy in Beijing on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Fu made a “serious representation” about the standoff.

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Petrodollar Warfare: Iran Accepts Renminbi for Crude Oil

Petrodollar Warfare: Iran Accepts Renminbi for Crude Oil

Iran is accepting renminbi for some of the crude oil it supplies to China, industry executives in Beijing and Kuwait and Dubai-based bankers said, partly as a consequence of U.S. sanctions aimed at limiting Tehran’s nuclear program.

Tehran is spending the currency, which is not freely convertible, on goods and services imported from China.

Most of the oil that goes from Iran to China is handled by the Unipec trading arm of Sinopec, China’s second-largest oil company, and through another trading company called Zhuhai Zhenrong, the oil industry executives said.

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Turkish Factor In Leviathan and Aphrodite ‘Energy Wars’

Turkish Factor In Leviathan and Aphrodite ‘Energy Wars’

Leviathan gas field, which is located in the Mediterranean Sea in 135km from the Israeli Haifa, was discovered in 2010 by the American Noble Energy Company, which concluded contract with Israeli government back in 2008 on initiating joint gas and oil exploration in the Mediterranean. The gas reserves found in 2010 can be considered rather impressive as, according to Noble Energy the total natural gas reserves in this field are estimated up to 450 billion m3 which makes it one of the biggest gas fields in the world. The importance of Leviathan for Israel is conditioned by the fact that it will exempt the Jewish state from the energy dependence on Egypt, which imports exports gas to Israel. Taking into consideration that the political processes going on in Egypt since 2011 can bring to power “Muslim brothers”, who are of radical anti-Israeli orientation, discovering and processing of a gas field of its own has become for Israel an issue of paramount national importance.

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AMISOM: US steps up training for African force in Somalia

AMISOM: US steps up training for African force in Somalia

At a training camp in Uganda, a dozen soldiers crouch, weapons raised as they make their way down a dirt road between shipping containers set up to look like buildings in the Somali capital.

Standing by, observing the Ugandan troops at work, is a U.S. marine, Major Mark Haley.

“Here is where we are going to teach urban warfare, how to fight building to building,” Haley said as the Ugandans moved between containers scrawled with graffiti reading “City of Death” and “Hell Zone”.

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Russia’s military brass threatens preemptive strike if NATO goes ahead with missile plan

Russia’s military brass threatens preemptive strike if NATO goes ahead with missile plan

Russia’s top military officer has threatened to carry out a pre-emptive strike on U.S.-led NATO missile defense facilities in Eastern Europe if Washington goes ahead with its controversial plan to build a missile shield.

President Dmitry Medvedev said last year that Russia will retaliate militarily if it does not reach an agreement with the United States and NATO on the missile defense system.

Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov went even further Thursday. “A decision to use destructive force pre-emptively will be taken if the situation worsens,” he said at an international conference attended by senior U.S. and NATO officials.

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Map: US bases encircle Iran

Map: US bases encircle Iran

US military bases continue to form a strategic envelope around Iran, although the American withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011 may have changed the regional balance somewhat towards Iran’s favour. While US forces are scaling back in many parts of the globe due to budget cuts – and have begun a gradual depature from Afghanistan to be completed by 2014 – their international presence remains vast.

From an active-duty force of 1.4 million soldiers, the US has deployed some 350,000 troops to at least 130 foreign countries around the world. Some are at Cold War-era installations, but many are in or near combat zones in the Middle East. At more than 750 bases internationally, private contractors and third-country nationals also form a large percentage of the staff, in addition to military reservists and civilian employees of the Pentagon.

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Taiwan sets up airborne unit for contested Spratly Islands

Taiwan sets up airborne unit for contested Spratly Islands

Taiwan’s defence ministry said Wednesday that it has formed a special airborne unit capable of scrambling to the contested Spratly islands in just hours, as tensions in the South China Sea mounted.

The unit has been set up under a plan named “airborne fast response and maritime support” which was unveiled for the first time in a report by the ministry to parliament, officials said.

No details of the unit, such as its size, were released to the public, but local media said that if needed, it can arrive on Taiping Island, the biggest in the disputed waters, onboard C-130 transport planes within four hours.

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USARAF: U.S. Soldiers ‘train the trainer’ in Africa

USARAF: U.S. Soldiers ‘train the trainer’ in Africa

“The AMISON mission is a shift from peacekeeping operation to a more kinetic-oriented operation, and these changes require a different approach to training and preparation,” Buzzurro said. “Our mentoring team brings combat experience from both Iraq and Afghanistan which combined with the instruction of the ACOTA program enhances the capabilities of the unit to accomplish its mission.”

ACOTA is a State Department, Bureau of African Affairs Program that originated in 1997 to enhance the capacities and capabilities of its African Partner Countries, regional institutions, and the continent’s peacekeeping resources as a whole so they can plan for, train, deploy, and sustain sufficient quantities of professionally competent peacekeepers to meet conflict transformation requirements with minimal non-African assistance.

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Letter signals US may sell Taiwan new fighter jets

Letter signals US may sell Taiwan new fighter jets

A lawmaker yesterday suggested the government look into reports that the United States is considering selling new fighter aircraft to Taiwan.

The military might as well explore the possibility of submitting a “letter of request” to Washington on the matter, said Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), convener of the Legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committees.
In its reply to a letter to Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, the White House on Friday said it would seriously consider selling new U.S. fighter jets to Taiwan to close a gap in air power with China.

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China newspaper warns of ‘small-scale war’ with Philippines

China newspaper warns of ‘small-scale war’ with Philippines

One of China’s most popular newspapers has warned of a potential “small-scale war” between Beijing and Manila as a result of their standoff at Panatag Shoal, or Scarborough Shoal as the area is known internationally.

The Global Times, in an editorial published in its Chinese and English editions, said over the weekend that “China should be prepared to engage in a small-scale war at sea with the Philippines”.

“Once the war erupts, China must take resolute action to deliver a clear message to the outside world that it does not want a war, but definitely has no fear of it,” the tabloid said.

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Tajikistan, Russia Inch Closer To Deal on Troop Presence

Tajikistan, Russia Inch Closer To Deal on Troop Presence

Russia and Tajikistan are getting closer to a deal that would extend the presence of Russian troops in the Central Asian nation beyond 2014, Russia’s foreign minister said Tuesday.

It is expected that the lease for the three Russian-controlled garrisons in the former Soviet republic neighboring Afghanistan will be extended by 49 years — a prospect first floated by outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in September.

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Russia creates special Arctic troops

Russia creates special Arctic troops

The Russian authorities have announced the formation of two dozen special border guard units in the Arctic. The strengthening of the Arctic borders will be implemented in the next eight years. The Defense Ministry promised to patch all the holes in the Arctic border formed in the post-Soviet years. The military presence will be strengthened by the ground troops.

Meanwhile, as noted by the Ministry of Defense, the unprotected border areas in the Arctic are frequented by foreign submarines belonging to the U.S. and the UK not particularly friendly towards Russia. Now these foreign visitors will be required to meet the eight new nuclear attack submarines of class “Severodvinsk”. These submarines are the first to join the Northern Fleet.

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Iranian oil ministry hit by cyber-attack

Iranian oil ministry hit by cyber-attack

Iran’s oil ministry has called a crisis meeting after its main website and internal communications system were hit by an apparent cyber-attack that forced authorities to cut off the country’s oil export terminal from the internet.

Local news agencies reported on Monday that a virus had struck the computer and communication systems of Iran’s main oil export facilities on Kharg Island as well as the internal network and the websites of its oil ministry and subsidiary organisations.

The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted ministry officials as saying an investigation was under way. “We are making plans to neutralise this cyber-attack,” said the deputy oil minister in charge of civil defence, Hamdollah Mohammadnejad.

The Kharg Island oil terminal, which exports 80% of the country’s daily 2.2m barrels, was hit by the virus, along with terminals on the islands of Gheshm and Kish.

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Pentagon creates new espionage unit

Pentagon creates new espionage unit

The Pentagon is planning to ramp up its spying operations against high-priority targets such as Iran under an intelligence reorganization approved last week by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, a senior defense official said Monday.

The newly created Defense Clandestine Service would work closely with the CIA to expand espionage operations overseas at a time when the missions of the agency and the military increasingly converge.

The defense official said the plan was developed in response to a classified study completed last year by the director of national intelligence that concluded that the military’s espionage efforts needed to be more focused on major targets outside war zones.

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Taiwan tests ‘China invasion’ scenario

Taiwan tests ‘China invasion’ scenario

Taiwan Thursday tested its ability to defend one of it largest air bases against Chinese invasion, a scenario experts insisted remained relevant in an age of missile and cyber attacks.

About 1,500 soldiers took part in the drill, part of the island’s biggest annual war game “Han Kuang (Han Glory) No 28″, at Hsinchu Air Base in the north of the island, home to dozens of French-made Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets.

“Radars have detected enemy aircraft approaching from across the Taiwan Strait,” an officer told foreign and local journalists invited to report on the event.

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A Military and Intelligence Clash Over Spy Satellites

A Military and Intelligence Clash Over Spy Satellites

In recent years, advances in commercially available technology have allowed private companies to develop satellites carrying high-resolution sensors and perform many of the surveillance tasks that were once the sole preserve of classified satellites owned and operated by the intelligence community. Two private companies already provide some of America’s spy satellite imagery, at far lower costs than government-owned satellites, according to current and former government and industry officials and outside analysts.

But at the urging of senior intelligence officials, the Obama administration has proposed cutting the contracts for commercial satellite imagery in half next year — to about $250 million from $540 million — to help meet deficit reduction requirements, while bringing back more of the work inside the government, according to administration and Congressional officials and industry experts.

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Viet Nam, China army brass urge stronger defence ties

Viet Nam, China army brass urge stronger defence ties

High-ranking army officers of Viet Nam and China have affirmed the importance of defence ties in the comprehensive co-operative strategic partnership between the two Parties and States.

The statement was made by Senior Lieutenant-General Do Ba Ty, chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam People’s Army, and his Chinese counterpart Chen Bingde during talks in Beijing on Monday.

They expressed their pleasure at the development of the two countries’ defence ties, saying that the two sides had effectively implemented the protocol signed between the two defence ministries in 2003, along with other co-operative agreements.

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New Cold War for Resources Looms in Arctic

New Cold War for Resources Looms in Arctic

To the world’s military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea-lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.

By Arctic standards, the region is already buzzing with military activity, and experts believe that will increase significantly in the years ahead.

Last month, Norway wrapped up one of the largest Arctic maneuvers ever — Exercise Cold Response — with 16,300 troops from 14 countries training on the ice for everything from high intensity warfare to terror threats.

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China, Russia plan naval exercises in Yellow Sea

China, Russia plan naval exercises in Yellow Sea

State media say China and Russia will conduct a joint maritime drill next week in the Yellow Sea off China’s eastern coast.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that the April 22-27 drill will focus on maritime defense and protection of navigation. It said it will involve 16 vessels, including destroyers, frigates, support and hospital ships and two submarines.

Xinhua said four warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have left Vladivostok for the exercise.

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‘China and Russia are clearly aiming to become larger powers’

‘China and Russia are clearly aiming to become larger powers’

The US is still No.1, with China second and Russia just behind. Isn’t that a shift in the balance?

Does change the balance but the US and China have for quite some time been the two largest spenders globally speaking. Russia is the one that this year is changing a little bit the old balance. Russia had a large increase in 2011, and is now number 3. The European countries have been facing in a different way their own economic problems, and I think that’s why in some cases the picture of Europe shows more weakened economies with large deficits in some countries and in some small countries the impact has been even larger in terms of cuts to the military budgets.

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Russian media: Moscow could deploy radar station in Tiraspol, in response to U.S. shield in Europe

Russian media: Moscow could deploy radar station in Tiraspol, in response to U.S. shield in Europe

Thus, the Russian leadership would intend to pay particular attention to Transnistria. “Given the proximity region with a NATO country – Romania – already four NATO bases and processes related to the integration of Moldova in Romania is increasing, the Russian Federation intends to maintain its military presence in Transnistria, moreover, suggests Voronezh radar installation, “added the sources cited.

On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry has said independent military Publication editor, Viktor Litovnik, had no plans to conduct a Voronezh-DM radar station in Transnistria. Head of the Moscow military decided to build such stations exclusively in Russia – Leningrad regions (north), Kaliningrad (west), the Armavir (south) and Irkutsk (east).

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US Army Africa(USARAF) conducts first AT/FP Level II training in Africa to U.S. personnel

US Army Africa(USARAF) conducts first AT/FP Level II training in Africa to U.S. personnel

Mike Miller, an AT/FP instructor with Department of the Air Force, said it is important to build relationships with the country team and regional security officers due to the unique situation in Africa. To conduct current and future operations, the country team and RSOs are utilized to help conduct joint exercises and other operations.

“Inside AFRICOM (Africa Command), both U.S. Army Africa and U.S. Air Force Africa’s unique mission faces security challenges, and force protection has to be in the forefront, and to do that successfully, you have to have a good relationship with both DoD in-country and DoS. It was an excellent opportunity to get some training for all those organizations,” Miller, a Chicago, Ill. native, said.

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Is NATO’s “Smart Defense” Program a Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Is NATO’s “Smart Defense” Program a Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

The NATO juggernaut is rolling forward to next month’s summit in Chicago. A key theme of the summit will be improvements to the Alliance’s capability to defend its members and meet evolving threats. NATO has promised concrete deliverables in Chicago including a long-term capability strategy for the so-called “Smart Defense” initiative which focuses on greater prioritization, specialization and cooperation among the NATO members so as to improve actual military capabilities. NATO has already announced that this strategy will consist of three parts: what is called a tangible package of multinational projects to address critical capability shortfalls; a set of longer-term multinational projects that include missile defense, Alliance ground surveillance and air policing; and, strategic projects for 2020 covering areas such as joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and air-to-air refueling.

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PM: Turkey may invoke NATO’s Article 5 over Syrian border fire

PM: Turkey may invoke NATO’s Article 5 over Syrian border fire

In a statement that may be interpreted as the harshest response yet to the escalating 13-month-old Syrian crisis, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the first time on Wednesday raised the possibility of calling on the NATO military alliance to protect Turkey’s border against incursions by Syrian forces.
Speaking to reporters travelling with him during his official visit to China, Erdoğan said Turkey may consider invoking NATO’s fifth article to protect Turkish national security in the face of increasing tension along the Syrian border. His comments came after four Syrians who fled to Turkey from the violence in Syria were killed by Syrian forces targeting refugees on the Turkish side of the border on Monday.

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China Buys Inroads in the Caribbean, Catching U.S. Notice

China Buys Inroads in the Caribbean, Catching U.S. Notice

China’s economic might has rolled up to America’s doorstep in the Caribbean, with a flurry of loans from state banks, investments by companies and outright gifts from the government in the form of new stadiums, roads, official buildings, ports and resorts in a region where the United States has long been a prime benefactor.

The Chinese have flexed their economic prowess in nearly every corner of the world. But planting a flag so close to the United States has generated intense vetting — and some raised eyebrows — among diplomats, economists and investors.

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Israeli-US Air, Naval Forces Train for Energy War

Israeli-US Air, Naval Forces Train for Energy War

Israeli, Greek and U.S. forces are in the midst of a drill in preparation for a possible war over Israel’s huge off-shore gas discoveries, which also may contain commercializable oil. Lebanon and Hizbullah have claimed the fields are in Lebanese territory and that they will “defend” the area against drilling by Israel.

The week-long drill is simulating air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare and is taking place off the coast of Turkey, possibly signaling it not to interfere with Israeli energy operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The “enemy” forces will be similar to those of the Turkish air force, according to the Defencenet.gr website.

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Flashpoint Falklands: The British destroyer Dauntless goes on alert to the Falklands

Flashpoint Falklands: The British destroyer Dauntless goes on alert to the Falklands

The HMS Dauntless, a powerful Type 45 destroyer, will leave its base in Portsmouth on Wednesday for a six-month deployment in the South Atlantic, a ministry spokesman told AFP.

“It’s going to the South Atlantic, not specifically to the Falklands,” the spokesman stressed, as both Britain and Argentina held events to mark 30 years since the beginning of their brief but bloody conflict over the archipelago.

The spokesman said the warship will reach the islands, which have been controlled by Britain since 1833 but are claimed by Argentina, via western and southern Africa.

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US could fly spy drones from Australian territory

US could fly spy drones from Australian territory

Australia on Wednesday said it may allow Washington to use its territory to operate long-range spy drones, as part of an increased US presence in the Asia-Pacific that has rankled China.

The United States and Canberra are planning a major expansion of military ties, with the first of a 2,500-strong Marine deployment to northern Australia unveiled last November by President Barack Obama due to arrive next month.

The plan has irked China and worried some Asian countries who see it as a statement by Washington that it intends to stand up for its interests in the region amid concerns of increasing assertiveness by Beijing.

Australian media carried reports Wednesday citing a Washington Post story that the United States was considering using the Cocos Islands, an atoll in the Indian Ocean off northwest Australia, to launch unmanned surveillance aircraft.

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Indian Nuclear bases in Assam to combat China – ULFA

Indian Nuclear bases in Assam to combat China – ULFA

In a startling revelation, the outlawed ULFA fighting for an Independent Asom has claimed that the Indian Government is secretly setting up Nuclear Missile Bases in North East India, especially in Assam in lieu of its growing conflict with China. As such, the Indian Government has already completed surveys for setting up bases for BRAHMOS cruise missile (Indo-Russian Technology) in Nagaland and Nuclear missile AKASH in Assam respectively. This explosive revelation has been made by none other than the ULFA Commander-in-Chief Paresh Asom alias Paresh Baruah.

In a press release sent to Times of Assam, the ULFA Supremo stated that Assam is being sandwiched between the Indo-China conflicts and maintained that Assam has never had any conflict with China over the centuries.

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US Seeks Missile Shields For Asia, Mideast

US Seeks Missile Shields For Asia, Mideast

The United States is seeking to build regional shields against ballistic missiles in both Asia and the Middle East akin to a controversial defense system in Europe, a senior Pentagon official disclosed on Monday.

The effort may complicate U.S. ties with Russia and China, both of which fear such defenses could harm their security even though the United States says they are designed only to protect against states like Iran and North Korea.

The U.S. push for new anti-missile bulwarks includes two sets of trilateral dialogues—one with Japan and Australia and the other with Japan and South Korea, said Madelyn Creedon, an assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs.

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Flashpoint Region: Supply of Weapons to South Caucasus

Flashpoint Region: Supply of Weapons to South Caucasus

The South Caucasus can no longer be viewed as a region in regard to which the balance of forces is arranged. The states of the south Caucasus were not given the opportunity to be more independent, their policy was practically aimed at the external actors.

In the course of a number of years the impression was that the United States and Russia mostly had shared goals. Now one can claim confidently that the United States, Russia and other great powers were interested in limited factors of the states of the South Caucasus because not only the possibility of ousting their opponents but also the possibility of holding active operations of political and military character is there, having a larger scale of importance than just regional.

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RAF trained to bomb airfields in Argentina

RAF trained to bomb airfields in Argentina

RAF bomber crews trained to attack airfields in Argentina in retaliation for any attempt to retake the Falkland Islands, it can be disclosed for the first time.

Vulcan bombers, designed for nuclear raids on Russia, trained night and day in Scotland, Wales and Canada for a low-level attack hundreds of miles deep into Argentine sovereign territory, a new book has shown.

The news is likely to strain further the poor relations between Britain and Argentina, which have been at their lowest since the Falklands conflict 30 years ago next month.

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Chinese spies target Taiwan’s US-made defenses

Chinese spies target Taiwan’s US-made defenses

When Taiwanese security personnel detained a suspected spy for China at a top secret military base last month, they may have had a sense of deja vu.

Air force Capt. Chiang — he was identified only by his surname — was the fourth Taiwanese in only 14 months known to have been picked up on charges of spying for China, from which the island split amid civil war 63 years ago. While Taiwan’s Defense Ministry did not disclose details of his alleged offense, his base in the northern part of the island hosts the air force’s highly classified radar system and U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles, both vital to the island’s aerial defense.

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Moscow abolished “independence” of Abkhazia

Moscow abolished “independence” of Abkhazia

A new position – special representative of President of Russia in Abkhazia has emerged simultaneously in Russia and Abkhazia. In political vocabulary of the 19th century such post was called “viceroy” while in modern it is called “governor.” On March 16, 2012 governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev was appointed on this post. He will work on both these two positions.

Appointment of Tkachev was not accompanied by “instructions” – functional responsibilities that he will be given in relations to Abkhazia, “independence” of which Moscow recognized in 2008 after yet another invasion of Georgia and another ethnic cleansing in other occupied region – Tskhinvali. Therefore, analysts will have to make an effort to learn a true purpose of this appointment. The more so that “Russian ambassador” Semyon Grigoryev is already working in Abkhazia.

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To the Chinese and the Indians go … the spoils of war

To the Chinese and the Indians go … the spoils of war

The money and blood pit that is Afghanistan – where the United States and Britain have spent more than 2100 lives and £302 billion ($580 billion) – is about to pay a dividend.

But it won’t be going to the countries which have made this considerable sacrifice. The contracts to open up Afghanistan’s mineral and fossil-fuel wealth, and to build the railways that will transport it out of the country, are being won or pursued by China, India, Iran, and Russia.

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India-Iran oil corridor part of new great game

India-Iran oil corridor part of new great game

India is making a concerted push into Central Asia by taking charge of a crucial transportation network through Iran into Central Asia and beyond. After getting an enthusiastic thumbs up from 14 stakeholder countries in the region in January, experts from all the countries will meet in New Delhi on March 29 to put final touches to the project known as the International North-South Corridor.

The project envisages a multi-modal transportation network that connects ports on India’s west coast to Bandar Abbas in Iran, then overland to Bandar Anzali port on the Caspian Sea; thence through Rasht and Astara on the Azerbaijan border onwards to Kazakhstan, and further onwards towards Russia. Once complete, this would connect Europe and Asia in a unique way — experts estimate the distance could be covered in 25-30 days in what currently takes 45-60 days through the Suez Canal.

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Turkish Cyprus might be annexed to Turkey: minister

Turkish Cyprus might be annexed to Turkey: minister

Turkish Cyprus could be annexed to Turkey if ongoing talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots for reunification fail to produce a solution, Turkey’s minister for European Union Affairs has said.

Egemen Bağış, in remarks published in Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kıbrıs, said all options are on table regarding the fate of Cyprus, private news stations NTV reported on Sunday.

“Reunification under a deal that [Turkish and Greek Cypriot] leaders could reach, creation of two independent states after an agreement between the two leaders if they are unable to reach a deal for reunification, or annexation of the [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus] KKTC to Turkey. These are all options on the table,” Bağış said.

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Taking Out Dictators: Our interventions follow certain patterns. Do Syria and Iran fit them?

Taking Out Dictators: Our interventions follow certain patterns. Do Syria and Iran fit them?

In the past 40 years, the United States has intervened to go after autocrats in Afghanistan, Grenada, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Panama, Somalia, and Serbia. We have attacked by air, by land, and by a combination of both. In the post-Vietnam, post–Cold War era, are there any rules to guide us about any action envisioned against Syria or Iran — patterns known equally to our enemies?

1. The target cannot have nuclear weapons. Strongmen in Pakistan and North Korea by virtue of their nukes are exempt from American reaction (unlike Syria or, at present, Iran) — unless they directly threaten our existence or that of our allies. With the end of the Cold War, many rogue states lost the Soviet nuclear umbrella and are still scrambling to acquire their own nuclear weapons to ensure them deterrence, especially against the United States, which has not yet invaded a nuclear nation.

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US making ‘strategic bet’ on India in Asia, says scholar

US making ‘strategic bet’ on India in Asia, says scholar

India gets a key place in the US pivot toward the Asia-Pacific region because Washington is making “a strategic bet” that India will promote peace and security in the long term, according to a US scholar.

The unexpected attention given to India in Pentagon’s new strategic guidance “raises interesting questions about how India fits into the United States’ vision for security in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Amer Latif in a commentary.

Noting that Washington and New Delhi have been actively building their defence relations through defence sales, exercises, and high-level military engagements, he said: “Despite the impressive progress in recent years, questions still remain about India’s commitment and ability to be a security provider in Asia.”

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USA Tries to Involve South Caucasian Countries into War against Iran

USA Tries to Involve South Caucasian Countries into War against Iran

Director General of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation Sergey Mikheyev is sure that the USA tries to involve the South Caucasian countries into the war against Iran. He expressed such views in an interview with News Azerbaijan Agency.

Specifically, Mikheyev stated that Americans, jointly with allies, would draw into the war on their side the northern neighbors of Iran – Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, maybe, Armenia and for sure – Georgia.

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Russia To Deploy 1st Arctic Brigade In 2015

Russia To Deploy 1st Arctic Brigade In 2015

The first motorized rifle arctic brigade will
be deployed in 2015, Russian Ground Forces Chief Col Gen Alexander
Postnikov said on Tuesday, February 21, RIA Novosti reported.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in July 2011 that two
arctic brigades would be established in “Murmansk or Arkhangelsk or
some other place.”

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China Reaps Rewards of Central Asian Investment

China Reaps Rewards of Central Asian Investment

For the Central Asian states, the importance of the pipeline goes beyond energy revenues. The first major pipeline from the region that bypasses Russia, it brings a much sought-after diversification of export routes. It secures China as a long-term buyer of Central Asian gas, and one that, unlike European countries, is a growing economy. It also opens up the prospect of sales to Japan and South Korea.

In China, the Central Asian countries have an investor that is willing to bankroll large-scale infrastructure projects – and not just in the energy sector – and that has proved effective in implementing them.

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Vladimir Putin: “Be strong: guarantee of national security for Russia”

Vladimir Putin: “Be strong: guarantee of national security for Russia”

The world is changing. Going it processes global transformation fraught with risks of different, often unpredictable nature. In terms of global economic and other shocks is always a temptation to solve their problems at the expense of others, by the force of pressure. Not by chance that today there are voices that say, soon, “objective” will be a question that national sovereignty should not be subject to the resources of global importance.

That even such hypothetical possibilities with regard to Russia should not be. That means – we will not have to enter into the temptation of their weaknesses.

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Israel, Cyprus ink military deal to protect energy resources

Israel, Cyprus ink military deal to protect energy resources

Israel and Cyprus signed a military agreement Thursday, February 16 allowing the former to use the airspace and territorial waters around the eastern Mediterranean island to protect vital energy resources, M&C reported citing DPA.

The search and rescue agreement, signed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Demetris Christofias, will allow the Israeli air force and navy to enter Cypriot space in the case of accidents or actions against oil rigs in their exclusive economic zones.

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Resource Rapture: Syria’s Untapped Assets Desired By Allies And Enemies Alike

Resource Rapture: Syria’s Untapped Assets Desired By Allies And Enemies Alike

The numbers and the facts don’t lie. Western Governments aren’t in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan because the falafel and couscous is good. This is a global economic hostile takeover using bombs and bullets. The bean counters and administrators come in later and begin the due diligence process.

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Opposition: Syrian war planes blow up oil pipeline in Homs

Opposition: Syrian war planes blow up oil pipeline in Homs

massive plume of thick, black smoke billowed from the city of Homs on Wednesday, punctuating the chaos that has plagued the opposition stronghold for months.

According to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group, government war planes flew over Homs and blew up an oil pipeline.

The Syrian government did not immediately issue a statement on the situation in Homs.

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Breakdown: Turkish-Israeli battle over Cyprus pipeline

Breakdown: Turkish-Israeli battle over Cyprus pipeline

The government of the Republic of Cyprus plans to protest any exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the politically divided island.

“We are investigating the issue, and have already brought it to the attention of the UN representation in Cyprus,” said Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markouli.

Supported by Turkey’s government, Turkish Cypriots are due to carry out drilling in the Famagusta region in eastern Cyprus, Markouli told local media.

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Noble Energy-Led Consortium Signs $680 Million Natural-Gas Deal in Israel

Noble Energy-Led Consortium Signs $680 Million Natural-Gas Deal in Israel

The U.S.-Israeli consortium developing the Tamar natural-gas field off Israel’s coast said on Sunday it had signed a 15-year deal to supply an Israeli power-plant operator with an estimated $680 million worth of gas.

Isramco Negev, a partner in the exploration group, said the deal was reached with Mashav Initiatives and Development, a subsidiary of Clal Industries that runs a power plant in central Israel.

The latest in a series of agreements the Tamar group has recently announced, the deal is for as many as 0.2 billion cubic meters of gas each year starting in the second half of 2013, when the offshore field is expected to begin production.

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Interview with Thomas P.M. Barnett: Military Strategist and Best Selling Author

Interview with Thomas P.M. Barnett: Military Strategist and Best Selling Author

Thomas P.M. Barnett is a strategic planner who has worked in national security affairs since the end of the Cold War. In 2010, Tom became Chief Analyst for the New York/Tel Aviv/Sidney online consultancy, Wikistrat. He has also operated his own consulting practice (Barnett Consulting LLC) since 1998.

A New York Times-bestselling author and a nationally-known public speaker who’s been profiled on the front-page of the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Barnett is in high demand within government circles as a forecaster of global conflict and an expert of globalization, as well as within corporate circles as a management consultant and conference presenter.

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SE Turkey: Malatya radar system to be commanded from Ramstein

SE Turkey: Malatya radar system to be commanded from Ramstein

The NATO missile shiled program, whose radars were installed at the Kürecik Air Base in Malatya, southeastern Turkey, will be commanded from the Alliance’s Ramstein Air Base, according to U.S. Defense Minister Leon Panetta, who briefed journalists on the sidelines of the international security conference in Munich today.

Panetta reminded that in addition to the radar station in Turkey – which has greatly disturbed neighboring Iran – missiles will be stationed in Romania and Poland. Four U.S. ships capable of shooting down missiles will be stationed at Rota, Spain, he said.

The whole system will be managed from the Geilenkirchen base in Germany. Among the officers at this base will be a Turkish general and his team.

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Position unchanged: No backtracking on Iran gas pipeline, Pakistan says

Position unchanged: No backtracking on Iran gas pipeline, Pakistan says

Islamabad on Wednesday reiterated its position that it will not backtrack on the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project despite Washington’s sanctions against Tehran but at the same time offered to import gas from US-based companies.

“Sanctions imposed by the United Nations do not affect the IP gas pipeline project and therefore Pakistan will continue to pursue it,” Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Dr Asim Hussain told US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, who called on him.

During the meeting, Dr Hussain offered to the US to supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Pakistan by setting up companies like other players currently working on LNG import projects in the country.

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US Intelligence: India may be drawn into ‘limited war’ with China

US Intelligence: India may be drawn into ‘limited war’ with China

“The Indian Army believes a major Sino-Indian conflict is not imminent, but the Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to fight a limited conflict along the disputed border, and is working to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean,” a PTI report quoted him as saying.

Clapper said India has expressed support for a strong US military posture in East Asia and US engagement in Asia. He said China in 2011 appeared to temper the assertive behavior that characterised its foreign policy the year before, but the internal and external drivers of that behaviour persist.

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‘Great power’ politics making a comeback in the Middle East

‘Great power’ politics making a comeback in the Middle East

With Russia sending warships to discourage foreign intervention in Syria, and China drawn more deeply into Iran’s confrontation with the West, “great power” politics is swiftly returning to the Middle East.

“What we are seeing is the U.S. losing its ability to shape events in the region, even though it remains by far the pre-eminent military power,” says Waleed Hazbun, director of the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University in Beirut. “You’re seeing others moving in to fill the gap.”

Experts say there are echoes of 19th and 20th century scrambles for resources, territory and influence.

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African Union embraces generous Chinese financing

African Union embraces generous Chinese financing

Weakened by chronic infighting and the demise of its long-time financier Moammar Gadhafi, the African Union is turning instead to the embrace of its richest new ally: China.

Col. Gadhafi, the Libyan dictator who was overthrown and killed last year, had been the biggest donor to Africa’s political alliance for years. But at its latest summit this weekend, the AU made it clear that Beijing is its new Libya.

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Research and Markets: Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Report Q1 2012: Potential for Gas Export Bonanza

Research and Markets: Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Report Q1 2012: Potential for Gas Export Bonanza

Turkmenistan could potentially benefit from a gas export bonanza, with a major reserves upgrade at the South Yolotan field alone providing the basis for long-term supply agreements that should transform the economic outlook. There are technical and commercial hurdles to overcome, but timely infrastructure investment and moves to improve international relations should guarantee that Turkmenistan becomes a key player in global gas supply.

Business Monitor International’s Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, oil and gas associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Turkmenistan’s oil and gas industry.

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India, Pakistan closer to oil deal import from Turkmenistan

India, Pakistan closer to oil deal import from Turkmenistan

India and Pakistan are closer to agreeing on a transit fee and a joint strategy to develop gas fields and import the hydrocarbon via a pipeline from the Central Asian Republic of Turkmenistan, oil ministers of two countries said.

The statements came during joint press conference by Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister S Jaipal Reddy and his Pakistani counterpart Dr Asim Hussain, after bilateral talks on energy cooperation here.
Turkmenistan has world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas. India & Pakistan are both keen to tap this source through a pipeline via the Central Asian country’s eastern neighbour, Afghanistan.

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Russian Sixth Generation Warfare and Recent Developments

Russian Sixth Generation Warfare and Recent Developments

While press attention on developments in Russia focused on the disputed parliamentary elections and the following protests, which seemed to revive political activism in Moscow and other urban centers, there have been some military developments that deserve some attention. One such theme is an old topic, sixth generation warfare and its impact upon the nuclear threshold – do advanced conventional systems, which approach nuclear effects, blur the line on nuclear deterrence? The Russian press has had several recent articles that suggest this issue is becoming more acute.

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How Iran Controls Afghanistan

How Iran Controls Afghanistan

Afghanistan has suffered from foreign meddling since its inception. But while Pakistan’s role has been widely discussed — most Afghans will point to concrete examples — Iran’s involvement is more subtle.

Iranian influence is all encompassing–the Islamic government funds Afghan Shiite sects and politicians, has invested in building roads and providing fuel and transport, and is fighting hard against the Afghan opium trade that supplies millions of addicts. But Iran’s lasting power on Afghanistan is cultural as well as political, broadcasting state radio and television programs inside Afghanistan.

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The Eurasian Triple Entente: Touch Iran in a War, You Will Hear Russia and China

The Eurasian Triple Entente: Touch Iran in a War, You Will Hear Russia and China

Despite the areas of difference and the rivalries between Moscow and Tehran, Russian and Iranian ties are increasing. Both Russia and Iran share many commonalities. They are both major energy exporters, have deeply seated interests in the South Caucasus, oppose NATO’s missile shield, and want to keep the U.S. and E.U. from controlling the energy corridors around the Caspian Sea Basin. Moscow and Tehran also share many of the same allies, from Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus to Syria and Venezuela. Yet, above all things, both republics are also two of Washington’s main geo-strategic targets.

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Arab Sheikhs fall in love with Renminbi

Arab Sheikhs fall in love with Renminbi

The short point is, the renminbi, the “people’s currency” also known as the yuan, is appearing in Doha. The China-United Arab Emirates (UAE) currency swap deal which was signed during Wen’s visit to Abu Dhabi last week already brings the yuan to the Emirates. The deal with the UAE is worth US$5.5 billion and the Chinese central bank statement said that it aims at “strengthening bilateral financial cooperation, promoting trade and investments and jointly safeguarding regional financial stability”.

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Russia’s South Stream winning pipeline war vs. EU-US Nabucco

Russia’s South Stream winning pipeline war vs. EU-US Nabucco

Gazprom’s South Stream gas pipeline, designed to ship Russian gas directly to Southern Europe circumventing Ukraine, looks to have stolen a march on the rival EU/US-backed supported Nabucco pipeline.

Construction of the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea to Europe will start in December 2012, and not 2013 as previously planned, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said January 20. At the same time, two key backers of Nabucco – US energy envoy Richard Morningstar and German energy giant RWE – expressed doubts about the feasibility of the project, which is designed to ship Caspian basin and Middle East gas direct to Southern Europe, bypassing Russia.

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Eurasian Union and Russia’s Geostrategic Stability

Eurasian Union and Russia’s Geostrategic Stability

US top foreign-policy strategist and a die-hard Russophobe Zbigniew Brzeziński had a point when he wrote in The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives that “Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire. Russia without Ukraine can still strive for imperial status, but it would then become a predominantly Asian imperial state”, moreover, a one under permanent pressure from Central Asian republics and China. He also stressed quite appropriately therein that “However, if Moscow regains control over Ukraine, with its 52 million people and major resources as well as its access to the Black Sea, Russia automatically again regains the wherewithal to become a powerful imperial state, spanning Europe and Asia”.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Azerbaijan develops its partnership with NATO”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Azerbaijan develops its partnership with NATO”

The issues of defense reforms, practical cooperation, security in the region, future development of Azerbaijan-NATO relations, including the beginning of Individual Partnership Plan, operations, energy security were discussed during the political dialog last year. The 28+1 (NATO member countries and Azerbaijan) meeting on energy security was held in NATO headquarters last year.

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David Arkhangelski : “Azerbaijan is a potential market for armament and military technology”

David Arkhangelski : “Azerbaijan is a potential market for armament and military technology”

There are series of fields where Azerbaijan and Georgia should boost cooperation. Security zone is a many critical as we face a lot of identical threats like terrorisms, trafficking and solidified conflicts.

Azerbaijan has a really engaging and quick building military-industrial complex. Georgia would be meddlesome in a technological team-work with your country. Azerbaijan is also a intensity marketplace for armament and troops technology.

I would like to underline a significance of a preparation in counterclaim field, sell programs and knowledge pity would be profitable for both a countries.

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Cold War Redux: Russia’s Kaliningrad buildup causes NATO chief concern

Cold War Redux: Russia’s Kaliningrad buildup causes NATO chief concern

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen Thursday urged Russia to refrain from building up its military near the alliance’s borders, saying it was a concern for the 28-nation organization.

Rasmussen questioned Russian moves to bolster its forces in its Kaliningrad territory, which borders NATO members Lithuania and Poland, both part of Moscow’s Cold War-era stamping ground.

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Saudi Arabia pivots toward Asia

Saudi Arabia pivots toward Asia

Saudi Arabia’s future lies in Asia. That was the subtext of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s recent visit to Riyadh. That future might arrive a lot quicker than people think, if BP is to be believed.

BP’s most recent energy outlook report predicts that the United States will become almost self-sufficient in energy by 2030, thanks to exploitation of its shale oil and gas resources.

Per The Guardian, this is a ”development with enormous geopolitical implications”. [1]

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Chief of Iran’s Quds Force claims Iraq, south Lebanon under his control

Chief of Iran’s Quds Force claims Iraq, south Lebanon under his control

Commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani has said that the Islamic Republic controls “one way or another” over Iraq and south Lebanon and that Tehran is capable of influencing the advent of Islamist governments in order to fight “arrogant” powers, ISNA student agency reported on Thursday.

“The enemies are trying to besiege the Islamic Republic of Iran, but this symposium is an opportunity for thousands of youth who play an influential role in the Islamic awareness to travel Iran and shed sensitivities of Iran-phobia by observing the an Islamic government founded on religious principles in Iran,” Gen. Soleimani, who reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said.

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Battle for control of Asia’s seas goes underwater

Battle for control of Asia’s seas goes underwater

It’s getting a bit more crowded under the sea in Asia, where Andrew Peterson commands one of the world’s mightiest weapons: a $2 billion nuclear submarine with unrivaled stealth and missiles that can devastate targets hundreds of miles (kilometers) away.

Super high-tech submarines like Cmdr. Peterson’s USS Oklahoma City have long been the envy of navies all over the globe — and a key component of U.S. military strategy.

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India, China Agree To Pursue Border Solution

India, China Agree To Pursue Border Solution

Six months after resuming military exchanges, India and China have agreed on a mechanism for resolving their long-standing boundary dispute.

The two countries signed a pact to establish a “Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.” The agreement, signed by India’s ambassador to China, S. Jaishankar, and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, was finalized here Jan. 17 at the conclusion of the 15th meeting of the Special Representatives on the boundary question between Indian National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

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Ethiopia forcing thousands off land: US rights group

Ethiopia forcing thousands off land: US rights group

Ethiopia is forcing tens of thousands of people off their land so it can lease it to foreign investors, leaving former landowners destitute and in some cases starving, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.

The Horn of Africa state has already leased 3 million hectares — an area just smaller than Belgium — to foreign farm businesses and the US-based rights group said that Addis Ababa had plans to lease another 2.1 million hectares.

The United Nations has increasingly voiced concern that countries such as China and Gulf Arab states are buying swathes of land in Africa and Asia to secure their own food supplies, often at the expense of local people.

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Pakistan nuclear material among least secure in the world: Report

Pakistan nuclear material among least secure in the world: Report

A Nuclear Threat Initiative index ranks Pakistan second behind North Korea as having the least secure nuclear material, hence posing the most risk, experts said on Wednesday.

The index, which gave rankings on a scale of 100, listed Australia as having the tightest security controls among nations with nuclear material.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by former US senator Sam Nunn and the Economist Intelligence Unit, aims to draw attention to steps that nations can take to ensure the safety of the world’s most destructive weapons.

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US troops in Japan to be mobilized for NK provocations

US troops in Japan to be mobilized for NK provocations

Seoul and Washington will sign a strategic planning directive (SPD) this month that maps out joint operational tactics of the two allies in the case of North Korean military attacks, defense officials said Tuesday.

They said the directive will include plans to send U.S. troops and military assets from Japan to the Korean Peninsula under the command of the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) in Hawaii.

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Danger Waters: The Three Top Hot Spots of Potential Conflict in the Geo-Energy Era

Danger Waters: The Three Top Hot Spots of Potential Conflict in the Geo-Energy Era

In the years to come, the location of energy supplies and of energy supply routes — pipelines, oil ports, and tanker routes — will be pivotal landmarks on the global strategic map. Key producing areas, like the Persian Gulf, will remain critically important, but so will oil chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca (between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea) and the “sea lines of communication,” or SLOCs (as naval strategists like to call them) connecting producing areas to overseas markets. More and more, the major powers led by the United States, Russia, and China will restructure their militaries to fight in such locales.

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Philippines Protests New China ‘Intrusion’ in Disputed Water

Philippines Protests New China ‘Intrusion’ in Disputed Water

The Philippines protested a new “intrusion” by China in waters it claims to be Philippine territory, a move that threatens to revive tensions over areas of the South China Sea that may contain energy reserves.

Two Chinese vessels and a military ship were spotted on Dec. 11 and 12 “at the vicinity” of Escoda Shoal, which is within Philippine territory, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The department on Jan. 5 “conveyed to the Chinese Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires its serious concerns over recent actions” in the South China Sea, it said in the statement.

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Zbigniew Brzezinksi: 8 Geopolitically Endangered Species That Will Suffer From America’s Decline

Zbigniew Brzezinksi: 8 Geopolitically Endangered Species That Will Suffer From America’s Decline

With the decline of America’s global preeminence, weaker countries will be more susceptible to the assertive influence of major regional powers. India and China are rising, Russia is increasingly imperially minded, and the Middle East is growing ever more unstable. The potential for regional conflict in the absence of an internationally active America is real. Get ready for a global reality characterized by the survival of the strongest.

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Balance of Power: Changing Geometrics of Asia-Pacific & Containment of China

Balance of Power: Changing Geometrics of Asia-Pacific & Containment of China

Asia-Pacific, as the name suggests, refers to a large part of the earth, whereby countries and continents surround the vast Pacific Ocean. More than being merely a geographical entity, this region has many strategic, economic & political connotations to it. Groupings like ASEAN, ASEAN+3, EAS, APEC etc. provide the various contexts in which the politics, economics and security of the region is defined.

Importance of this region can be gauged from the fact that the countries in Asia-Pacific account for over 40% of the world’s population, 55% of the world’s GDP and about 45% of global trade. And these numbers are rapidly growing.

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U.S. turns to drones to counter China

U.S. turns to drones to counter China

A recent offer by the Seychelles to refuel and replenish Chinese naval ships on anti-piracy patrols in the northwest Indian Ocean was seen as the latest sign of China’s expanding naval power.

But it obscured an even more significant development: U.S. deployment of a mini-air force of long-range, remotely-piloted aircraft from a network of airfields in the Seychelles, the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to track and if necessary attack suspected terrorists on land and pirates at sea.

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Pentagon: US Navy will remain in Persian Gulf

Pentagon: US Navy will remain in Persian Gulf

The Pentagon says U.S. warships will continue to sail in the Persian Gulf despite an Iranian warning to stay away.

Pentagon press secretary George Little issued a written statement Tuesday saying that the U.S. Navy presence in the Gulf is in compliance with international law. And he said it is intended to maintain what he called a “constant state of high vigilance” in order to ensure the flow of sea commerce.

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Obama Makes Arms Sales A Key Tool Of U.S. Foreign Policy

Obama Makes Arms Sales A Key Tool Of U.S. Foreign Policy

In a striking departure from the ideological preferences of the post-Vietnam Democratic Party, President Barack Obama has made overseas arms sales a pillar of U.S. foreign policy. The President and his advisors apparently have decided that well-armed allies are the next best thing to U.S. “boots on the ground” when it comes to advancing America’s global security interests.

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Israel and South Sudan strengthen cooperation in oil and military

Israel and South Sudan strengthen cooperation in oil and military

Southern Sudan and Israel strengthen cooperation. Salva Kiir, President of the newborn African state independent of Khartoum in July this year, made a lightning visit to the Middle East, accompanied by his ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs. Salva Kiir met in Jerusalem Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of diplomacy Lieberman, Defense Minister Barak and was also received by President Shimon Peres.

During the ‘meeting between Kiir and Netanyahu has talked of cooperation in the fields of technology, industry, water development and the search for a solution to the issue of immigrants coming to Israel from the African country.

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Analysis: Saber-rattling in Strait of Hormuz

Analysis: Saber-rattling in Strait of Hormuz

It is just 34 miles (55 kilometers) wide and dotted with islands and rocky outcrops, a channel that links the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. Like many marine “chokepoints,” the Strait of Hormuz has long commanded the attention of empires and their navies.

And in recent decades it has become even more critical: one-third of the oil carried by sea passes through Hormuz — that’s some 15 million barrels every day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Now Iran’s Vice-President is warning that the Islamic Republic could block the Strait if sanctions are imposed on its exports of crude. France, Britain and Germany have proposed such sanctions as punishment for Iran’s lack of co-operation on its nuclear program.

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‘China increasing presence in Pakistani Kashmir’

‘China increasing presence in Pakistani Kashmir’

AMMU: Causing concern in the Indian Army, China has increased the presence of its military engineers in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a senior army officer said.

Although the exact number of Peoples Liberation Army men and engineers engaged in building infrastructure across the Line of Control is not known, their number has increased in recent months, the senior commander said.

The LoC divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

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Afghanistan, China to sign first oil contract

Afghanistan, China to sign first oil contract

Afghanistan will sign a deal Wednesday allowing China’s state-owned National Petroleum Corporation to become the first foreign firm to produce oil in the country, the Ministry of Mines said.

The deal will allow the Chinese firm to work oil blocks in the northeastern provinces of Sari Pul and Faryab. The area, known as the Amu Darya River Basin, is believed to have reserves of about 87 million barrels of oil.

Minister Wahidullah Shahrani will sign the accord with the director of the Beijing-based company, ministry spokesman Jawad Umer said Tuesday. The contract calls for CNPC to form a joint venture with a local partner, the Watan Group.

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What’s Likely in New Pentagon Strategy: 2 Theaters, Fewer Bases, A2D2

What’s Likely in New Pentagon Strategy: 2 Theaters, Fewer Bases, A2D2

The threat of a $500 billion defense sequestration looms as a result of the Super Committee failure – a prospect that Secretary Panetta has called “potentially ruinous.” Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Representative Howard “Buck” McKeon and some of his Senate colleagues have promised to introduce legislation to reverse the cuts.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is in the midst of a “comprehensive strategic review” designed to bring missions and resources into alignment with dramatically reduced budgets relative to what the military had expected to receive just two short years ago.

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Violence Spreads to a Second Oil Town in Kazakhstan

Violence Spreads to a Second Oil Town in Kazakhstan

Violence between striking workers and the authorities in western Kazakhstan spread over the weekend, bringing the death toll to 14, the country’s general prosecutor announced on Sunday.

The clashes began Friday in the city of Zhanaozen, where police officers opened fire on striking oil workers who had occupied a city square for six months demanding better wages. The authorities said that 13 people were killed and 86 were wounded. Relatives and some witnesses have said that the death toll is much higher.

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Iran’s Caspian Discovery Could Change the Regional Gas Game

Iran’s Caspian Discovery Could Change the Regional Gas Game

Iran’s recent announcement that it has found a huge new gas field in the Caspian has been touted as a major event, which will “will change the energy and political balance around the Caspian Sea”, according to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. With estimated reserves of 1.4 trillion cubic metres of natural gas and 8 billion barrels of oil, the find is undoubtedly significant, but perhaps not for the reasons which Iran means.

First is the legal issue. Iran has not yet revealed the exact location of the field, which is unusual.

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Up to 40,000 children mine gold in Mali: rights group

Up to 40,000 children mine gold in Mali: rights group

Between 20,000 and 40,000 children work in artisanal gold mines in Mali, Africa’s third-largest producer of the precious metal, Human Rights Watch said in a report Tuesday.

In a statement, HRW said that “children as young as six dig mining shafts, work underground, pull up heavy weights of ore, and carry, crush, and pan ore.”

It also said that many children “work with mercury, a toxic substance, to separate the gold from the ore. Mercury attacks the central nervous system and is particularly harmful to children.”

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Arabs, Turks attempt to redefine Arab uprisings, political trajectories

Arabs, Turks attempt to redefine Arab uprisings, political trajectories

It was the 25th in a series of gatherings organized by Zirve University and the Abant Platform, yet this time participants found a rare opportunity to discuss political developments elsewhere and the possible role Turkey might have in this political turmoil.

Comprising largely Turkish intellectuals both from Turkey and from around the world, Arab and Western commentators, activists and professors also joined in during the three-day event. Discussions primarily centered on redefining the Arab Spring, ways to cushion the pain of the transition period in post-revolution Arab nations and Turkey’s contribution to political developments participants hoped signaled the birth pangs of consolidated democracies.

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Post-Assad Syria would drop special Iran ties

Post-Assad Syria would drop special Iran ties

The collapse of the 40-year-long Assad regime in Syria would radically change Mideast politics since the nat’l council, poised to take over, reiterates it will cut Iran and Hezbollah ties, Al Ahram reported.

Syria would align itself with the Arab League and the Gulf, Syrian National Council leader Burhan Ghalioun told the Wall Street Journal in an interview in France. “Our future is truly tied to the Arab world and the Gulf in particular,” Ghalioun, the main Syrian opposition leader in exile was quoted as saying in a WSJ transcript.

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Chavez touts new Latin America, Caribbean bloc

Chavez touts new Latin America, Caribbean bloc

What if they threw a giant party for the Americas and didn’t invite the United States or Canada? That’s what Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is doing with a two-day, 33-nation summit starting Friday, welcoming nations from Brazil to Jamaica in what he hopes will be a grand alliance to counter U.S. influence.

Many presidents have less sweeping goals in mind, seeing the new Community of Latin American and Caribbean States mainly as a forum for resolving regional conflicts, building closer ties and promoting economic development.

Yet the bloc’s creation is also a sign that for many countries, the United States is no longer seen as an essential diplomatic player in regional affairs.

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New Color Revolution?: South Ossetia Held In The Grip of Russia As Elections Annulled

New Color Revolution?: South Ossetia Held In The Grip of Russia As Elections Annulled

Police have fired warning shots during a protest at the annulment of Sunday’s presidential election in the Georgian breakaway territory of South Ossetia.

Preliminary results gave Alla Dzhioyeva an unexpected win over Anatoly Bibilov, Russia’s favoured candidate.

But Mr Bibilov accused the opposition leader of fraud and the result was declared invalid.

Ms Dzhioyeva, an anti-corruption campaigner, has rejected the annulment and declared herself president.

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Breakdown: Russia sends aircraft carrier to Lebanon, Syria

Breakdown: Russia sends aircraft carrier to Lebanon, Syria

In December a vessel group led by the Northern Fleet’s aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” will sail to the Mediterranean and the Russian naval base of Tartus in Syria.

The mission has nothing to do with the deadly violence in Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and the opposition, a naval spokesman told Izvestia.
- This was planned already in 2010 when there were no such events there. There has been active preparation and there is no need to cancel this, the spokesman said, adding that “Admiral Kuznetsov” will also visit Beirut, Genoa and Cyprus.

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Geopolitical Failure: Kremlin candidate losing in South Ossetia election

Geopolitical Failure: Kremlin candidate losing in South Ossetia election

An opposition candidate on Monday appeared to have won a presidential election in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia, beating a pro-Kremlin hopeful in what experts called a failure of Moscow’s policies in the strategic enclave.

Corruption champion and former education minister Alla Dzhioyeva has won 56.7 percent of Sunday’s run-off vote, while Emergencies Minister Anatoly Bibilov got 40 percent, the South Ossetian election commission said after counting 74 of the 85 precincts in the province the size of Rhode Island.

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