Foreign News and Analysis Since April 2005 -- formerly China Confidential -- What's Really Happening in the WorldForeign Confidential ™
Friday, May 04, 2012
China, Russia Conclude Large Joint Naval Drill
Military Exercise Conducted Within SCO Framework
China and Russia announced last week the conclusion of a six-day joint naval exercise. The exercises took place in the Yellow Sea off of China's east coast and included a live-fire stage. It focused on joint maritime air defense and the defense of marine traffic arteries, with exercises involving joint escorts, marine search and rescue operations, anti-submarine tactics and anti-hijacking tactics. China and Russia have conducted several joint military exercises since 2005 within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization….
Read more.
The View from Japan
Foreign Confidential™ analysts in Tokyo say the drills were aimed at the Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia that aims to strengthen U.S. alliances across the region. Thus, the location and timing of the exercises was carefully chosen. For example, the passage of Russian warships through the Tsushima Strait between Japan and Korea was meant to send a message to Japan. The strait was the site of the key naval battle in 1905 Russo-Japanese war.
Once ridiculed by Washington, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (which grew out of the Shanghai Five mechanism) has emerged as an effective, Chinese-led counter to U.S. power and influence throughout Asia in general and Central Asia in particular. Click hereto read about the New Great Game.Danish National Heading UN Office in Sierra Leone
Set up by the Security Council in 2008, UNIPSIL provides political advice to foster peace and political consolidation, offers support and training to the national police and security forces, and builds the capacity of democratic institutions in furtherance of good governance and the promotion and protection of human rights.
Sierra Leone's stability and socioeconomic progress is one of Africa's great success stories, with a turnaround in international investment that includes developments in mining, agriculture, and tourism, as well as support for expanding health and medical services.Barak: Iran Seeks 60-Day Nuke Capability
Iran Denying IAEA Access to Key Army Site
Hordes of Young People Flee Greece
Related: Radical Right Threatens Greek Democracy Navy Becoming one of Israel's Strategic Arms
Israel is becoming a maritime power with an armada of advanced submarines. Click herefor the story.N. Korea Escalates Electronic Attacks on South
GPS Jamming of Passenger and Coast Guard Ships
About 250 commercial flights have reportedly been affected by the jamming.Beijing Signals Possible Deal But Chen Fears for Safety
Fate of Blind Rights Activist Overshadows US-China Talks
Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng said Friday that he is worried about his safety and would like to travel with his family to the United States “for a time.”
Chen told reporters via telephone from a Beijing hospital that he has been unable to meet U.S. officials since Wednesday, when he left the U.S. embassy where he had sought refuge for nearly a week after escaping house arrest.
Earlier, Chen made a dramatic appeal for help from U.S. lawmakers. He said in a phone call carried live in a U.S. Congressional hearing Thursday that he hopes to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is attending the second and final day of high-level talks in China.
Chen originally agreed to a deal reached by U.S. and Chinese authorities that would allow him to stay in a “safe” place in China and study law. But he changed his mind hours after leaving U.S. protection, saying his family had been threatened and that he wanted to leave the country.
Study Abroad Could be Way Out
China's foreign ministry on Friday opened a possible door to resolving the diplomatic standoff, saying that Chen could apply to study abroad, “just like any other Chinese citizen.”
Secretary of State Clinton has not commented publicly on Chen's case during the talks. She told Chinese President Hu Jintao Friday that the U.S. is committed to “bridging differences wherever possible,” but said that the U.S.-China relationship is “stronger than it's ever been.”
Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao said the talks have been “highly productive,” and that the two countries have “accomodated each other's major concerns.” But he urged Clinton to respect differences between the two countries.
Chinese state media took a more pessimistic view of the incident on Friday. An editorial in the government-backed Beijing Daily said Chen has “become a tool and a pawn for American politicans to throw mud on China.”
Beijing has already demanded an apology from the U.S. for taking in Chen, calling it an unacceptable interference in its internal affairs.
Chen is a self-taught lawyer and human rights activist who has been blind since childhood. He was given a four-year prison sentence in 2006 for exposing abuses under China's forced abortion policy aimed at population control. He had been under house arrest since 2010, before escaping on April 22.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak says Iran seeks "regime immunity" by achieving "nuclear threshold status"--the capacity to manufacture a nuclear weapon within 60 days. Click here for the exclusive interview.
Iran is stonewalling on allowing the UN nuclear watchdog access to a key military facility and suspected of sanitizing he site ahead of an inspection. Click here for the story.
Columnist John Kass traveled to Greece to see the land of his fathers and to report on its economic crisis. But as he was arriving, others were leaving, especially young people, suffering from 50% unemployment. Click here to read his eyewitness report.
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