Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (09-08-2014)

[vijaykarthik]

China cares two hoots about its lap-dog. So it will not work on them. Why cannot India (now that it has a better nationalistic administration) de-recognize Tibet as part of China to begin with. If they are soft pedaling on Arunachal, POK, COK as well as Sikkim depending on the phase of the moon, why should not we reciprocate there.

That is a hard choice. It takes a leader to make such hard choices.

However, our current President, a few years back stated words to position the matter, with very carefully drafted words, which sent the message clearly.

What we can be thankful for with the current leadership is that it did NOT reiterate the Tibet is part of China message as ABV had done.

I thought someone high up accepted Tibet as part of China ritualistically even quite recently. Am I mistaken?

[Philip]

J-anus faced US! Willing to make money with China selling ,but wanting other nations like India to spend billions buying US eqpt. to defend themselves from it!

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/08/10/p ... -to-china/

Maine delegates decry sale of defense servers to China
Posted Aug. 10, 2015,
WASHINGTON — Last fall, one of the nation’s top computer makers won approval from the federal government to sell one of its divisions to a Chinese company.

The sale is raising concerns among members of Maine’s congressional delegation. That’s because it involves a division that makes computers critical for national defense, including weapons systems on warships built at Bath Iron Works.

Last fall, Hewlett-Packard, one of the nation’s largest computer companies, was granted federal approval to sell its server division to a Chinese company. Servers are complex pieces of computer hardware used in the manufacture of missiles, radar and navigation systems.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she can’t understand how federal officials would approve such a deal.

“The idea that an American computer firm would be allowed to sell an important subsidiary that’s doing business with the Department of Defense to China is just inconceivable to me,” she said.

Sharing Collins’ outrage is fellow Republican, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, who said it’s clear that China has long been testing the cyber defenses of the U.S. military.

“We cannot have any kind of opportunity for the Chinese or any other foreign government to be involved in our defense capabilities here at home,” he said.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, said current federal law restricts purchases of military weapons and systems from U.S. companies. Pingree said she is troubled that the review process seems to have failed, because it did not determine that the computer hardware division was supplying crucial components to the Department of Defense.

“You can’t sell all of your great assets to China and then think, ‘Well, we can go find another American company when they don’t exist anymore,’” Pingree said. “So, we could write more legislation, but I think this is one where it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

Sen. Angus King, an independent who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the computer sale is indicative of a much bigger problem lawmakers need to address. He said with fewer manufacturers in the United States and with many of them using components from other countries, the “made in America” initiative might not be enough.

“A server is a big, obvious case of it, but what about a bolt that is designed to fail in a certain situation that’s in a tank?” King said. “It could be anything. And, frankly, I know the Pentagon is paying attention to this issue — it’s called the supply chain issue but — I don’t think it’s fully resolved, by any means.”

Meanwhile, legislation aimed at bolstering the defense of the United States against cyber attacks and cyber sabotage has once again been delayed. Congress is on vacation until after Labor Day.

[SSridhar]

Japan joins U.S.-Philippine humanitarian drills amid China Sea dispute - Reuters

Japan has joined U.S.-led maritime humanitarian exercises off the Philippines for the first time, as concerns mount among the three allies about China's growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.

A Japanese navy replenishment ship was in Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base, to refuel a U.S. Navy floating hospital en route to Vietnam for the seven-nation humanitarian mission.

It was the first time a Japanese navy ship has taken part in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief drills although a flotilla of Japanese training vessels, including a submarine, makes annual port calls in Manila.

Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of U.S. Seventh Fleet's Task Force 73, said humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises were becoming a regular component of military exercises in the Philippines.

"You are seeing in exercises ... a shift from strictly bilateral engagement to multilateral, which is why you see the Japanese here today," Rear Admiral Williams told journalists aboard USNS Mercy, one of two U.S. hospital ships.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims. Japan and China also have conflicting claims in the East China Sea.

Rear Admiral Williams said the presence of Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, head of Japan's Self-Defence Forces, "speaks volumes about their commitment to the region and their commitment to being part of a multilateral engagement".

Admiral Kawano met early this week with his Philippine counterpart, General Hernando Iriberri, and Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in Manila, where he expressed interest in holding joint amphibious landing exercises and operations with Philippine marines.

In a meeting with Mr. Gazmin, Admiral Kawano also expressed interest in sharing information in the South China Sea and capacity building, particularly in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Rear Admiral Williams said humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations were "a great avenue towards increasing maritime stability and security in this region", part of Washington's rebalance to Asia policy.

China hit back on Monday at U.S. criticism that it restricts navigation and over-flights in the South China Sea. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also said China's construction of facilities on man-made islands for "military purposes" was raising tension and risked "militarisation" by other claimant states.

[SSridhar]

Beijing’s riposte on S.China Sea slams Philippines, Japan - Atul Aneja, The Hindu

China has mounted an energetic riposte to a spate of accusations about its naval activism in the South China Sea, pointing out that it was defending its legitimate rights in these waters, anchored in history and international law.

Faced with a barrage of allegations, mainly by the Philippines and Japan, that Beijing’s behaviour in the South China Sea could threaten “freedom of navigation,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi countered the core arguments at a recent meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

In an August 6 meeting, Mr. Wang asserted that China’s status on the South China Sea rested on firm legal foundations of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which were central in defining the post-war global architecture.

“Seventy years ago, pursuant to the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, China lawfully recovered the Nansha (Spratly) and Xisha (Paracel) Islands, which were illegally occupied by Japan and resumed exercise of sovereignty. As a matter of fact, the military vessels China used in recovering the islands were provided by the U.S., an allied nation,” Mr. Wang observed.

He added that it was “not until the 1970s when there were reports about oil under the South China Sea that some countries began to invade and occupy Nansha (Spratly) islands and reefs, undermining China’s lawful rights and interests”.

Turning to the Philippines, Mr. Wang stressed that a string of treaties and conventions that defined its boundaries showed that Manila’s claims over the Scarborough shoal and the Spratly islands were ill-founded.

“The fact is, according to the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the Treaty of Washington in 1900 and the Convention Between the U.S. and Great Britain of 1930, which defined the territory of the Philippines, the western boundary of the Philippines is delimited by 118 degrees east longitude. The Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and Nansha (Spratly) Islands are completely to the west of 118 degrees east longitude. They are not the Philippines’ territory.” Mr. Wang slammed the Philippines for staging four military operations after the 1970s, and “illegally” invading and occupying “eight islands and reefs of China’s Nansha (Spratly) Islands”.

The Chinese foreign minister asserted that the accusation that Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea were posing a threat to “freedom of navigation” was absurd.

“Up to now, there has not been a single case in which freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is impeded.”

[SSridhar]

China Cannot Be Avoided: [Chinese] State-run Media After SL Polls - New Indian Express

BEIJING: As a sense of unease prevailed here over defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka's Parliamentary polls blunting Beijing's influence in the Indian Ocean region, Chinese official media asserted that "China cannot be avoided" because its ties with Colombo transcended "partisan politics".

While Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post headlined its report 'Sri Lanka's pro-China ex-president Rajapaksa concedes defeat', highlighting the strategic significance of the poll result, the state-run Global Times blamed the Western and Indian media for attributing pro-China image to Rajapaksa.

It was during his tenure that Lanka had secured about USD five billion loans from China for strategic projects.

"Although the President (Maithripala) Sirisena government is recalibrating its foreign policy and seeking a balanced approach in handling relations with big powers, China cannot be avoided. It's only the outsiders' wishful thinking that partisan politics will stagnate or even turn back China-Sri Lanka relations. China will also not depend on any single party to maintain the bilateral relationship.

"Since Rajapaksa announced his run, some Western and Indian media have deliberately portrayed him as 'Beijing's preferred candidate' and highlighted that his defeat would be frustrating for Beijing," the Global Times said.

When the allegedly pro-China Rajapaksa "was unseated by Sirisena in January, there was also speculation that the change of government would pose challenges to Sino-Lankan ties and particularly for the Chinese investments in the country", it said.

"Although partisan politics may have a certain effect on bilateral ties, it's inappropriate to exaggerate the influence. To consolidate high-level strategic cooperation with China has gained bipartisan backing in Sri Lanka's parliament. No matter which party takes power, it will maintain a good relationship with China," it said.

Besides the anxieties over the costly projects, China is concerned over the future of its mega Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean for which Rajapaksa was first to announce support in 2014 before his defeat overriding India's reservations over apprehensions that the Chinese project is detrimental to its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean.

The Sirisena government while welcoming the project has called for specific details of its implementation.

The Global Times commentary hoped that the new government will gradually resume the suspended foreign-invested projects including the controversial USD 1.4 billion Chinese-invested Colombo Port city project, it said.

It was suspended by Sirisena government to review its environmental impact and to re-negotiate clauses like ownership of land by Chinese firms.

The commentary pointed Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake's recent interview in which he had said Lanka hopes to negotiate a "win-win" compromise that would allow the suspended Chinese projects to resume after months of delays.

[SSridhar]

India accepts invitation to victory parade in Beijing - The Hindu

Ending weeks of speculation, India has accepted China’s invitation to a military parade in Beijing on September 3 to celebrate the end of World War II.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh will represent India, sources here and Beijing said on Wednesday.

China has invited the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Russia, even Japan and other nations to the parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary celebrations of what it calls the “victory of the anti-fascist forces”.

New Delhi was cautious in accepting the invitation, weighing in the consequences on its bilateral ties with Japan.

Chinese Ambassador to India Le Yucheng recalled on Tuesday the support Beijing received during the war from leaders like Mahatama Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

“Chinese and Indian soldiers, as military allies, fought shoulder-to-shoulder in Myanmar. And the Indian Army was instrumental in inflicting a serious land defeat suffered by the Japanese in the war,” Mr. Le said at a seminar on the shared memories of World War II.

While Japan has not reacted to India’s decision to attend the parade, H.S. Prabhakar of the Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said it was unlikely to affect bilateral ties.

Ties with Japan

“Relations between India and Japan have been strengthened over time, even after the war when the International Military Tribunal [for the Far East’s trials of Japanese war crimes committed during the WW-II] was set up.

India submitted a judgment which said the defendants were not guilty. India also did not sign the 1952 peace treaty, opting to sign a separate peace treaty with Japan; so Tokyo and New Delhi have an independent relationship,” he told The Hindu .

[SSridhar]

Chinese think-tank cautions it over Silk Road projects in disputed regions - Economic Times

As China went ahead with its economic corridor project with Pakistan through PoK disregarding India's objections, a Chinese think tank in a rare criticism today cautioned the government to exercise "prudence" in pushing Silk Road projects.

In an article titled "China must tread lightly with its 'one belt, one road' initiative" in the South China Morning Post today Shi Yinhong a professor of international relations and strategic studies at China's Renmin University specially referred to the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR).

"Above all, prudence is required in dealing with the problems that may arise during the initiative, as well as with regard to other strategic projects including BCIM and CPEC," the article said in a rare public criticism against the projects.

"Yes, this is an appeal to China for prudence! Most importantly, Beijing has to realise it's vital to fully engage the countries on whose sovereign lands the infrastructure systems are to be built, and this includes conducting far more international consultations than has been the case up to now," it said.

The article said China needs to respect other nations involved in the project and allay their concerns.

"Moreover, doing more and saying less should be a principle for China. To do otherwise could well aggravate the antipathy of India and Russia, and raise or increase suspicions among Central Asian republics and many countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean," it said.

The Silk Road projects officially termed as the Belt and Road involved a number of roads including the revival of ancient Silk Road connecting China and Europe through Central Asia, BCIM, MSR and CEPC.

While India is taking part in BCIM, It has objected to CPEC because it is being laid through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and reluctant to back the MSR due to concerns of China's domination in Indian Ocean.

The projects "must be international collective enterprises; this is the only way to substantially ease the other nations' worries and suspicions that may well present themselves", the article said.

"If China fails to act appropriately, such construction will bring out nationalistic worries and stimulate political controversy domestically, as well as factional struggles shrouded by nationalism," it said.

"Equally important for China is to avoid trying to push the project too fast. The enterprise must be divided into different stages for each geographical region, sub-region and individual country, with strategic ideas and plans developed and revised as appropriate," it said.

[Austin]

China presents ‘fundamental challenge to American strategy,’ says Kissinger

WASHINGTON, August 20. /TASS/. China "inherently presents a fundamental challenge to American strategy", "a much subtler problem than that of the Soviet Union," a patriarch of American foreign policy, Henry Kissinger, said in an interview with the National Interest magazine.

Dismissing a notion that the US had itself created a Frankenstein by ‘creating the opening to China’, the former secretary of state said: "A country that has had three thousand years of dominating its region can be said to have an inherent reality".

"The alternative would have been to keep China permanently subdued in collusion with the Soviet Union, and therefore making the Soviet Union-already an advanced nuclear country-the dominant country of Eurasia with American connivance," he noted.

"But China inherently presents a fundamental challenge to American strategy," he said in the interview.

In reply to the question whether he saw Beijing’s aspirations as Sinocentric, or whether they could be "integrated into some sort of Westphalian framework", Henry Kissinger said "That’s the challenge. That’s the open question. It’s our task".

"We’re not good at it, because we don’t understand their history and culture," he admitted.

"I think that their basic thinking is Sinocentric. But it may produce consequences that are global in impact," Kissinger said.

"Therefore, the challenge of China is a much subtler problem than that of the Soviet Union. The Soviet problem was largely strategic. This is a cultural issue: Can two civilizations that do not, at least as yet, think alike come to a coexistence formula that produces world order?" he summed up.

The National Interest’s editor, Jacob Heilbrunn, spoke with Henry Kissinger in July.

[Philip]

China shooting itself in the foot and sending panic around the world's economies.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... on-markets
Global stocks in 'panic mode' as Chinese factory slump drags on markets
Asia Pacific markets mimic heavy selling in US and Europe as latest data adds to expectations that Beijing will have to give its spluttering economy another boost

Asia Pacific markets mimic heavy selling in US and Europe as latest data adds to expectations that Beijing will have to give its spluttering economy another boost

A succession of devaluations in China's yuan focused attention on the country's weakening economy.

Shane Hickey and Martin Farrer
Friday 21 August 2015
The FTSE 100 has hit its lowest level this year after further signs of a weakening Chinese economy spooked investors.

Britain’s leading share index fell to 6,286 points on Friday morning immediately after opening, which was a decline of 1.26%. It subsequently clawed back some of those gains by mid-morning to 6,333 points, down 0.8%.

Eight reasons why China’s currency crisis matters to us all

The FTSE drop mirrored stock markets across Asia-Pacific after they went into “panic mode” when further signs of a weakening Chinese economy compounded overnight losses on Wall Street and European bourses.

China’s factory sector shrank at its fastest pace in more than six years in August as domestic and export demand dwindled, a private survey showed, adding to worries that the world’s second-largest economy may be slowing sharply and sending financial markets into a tailspin.

China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan and heavy selling in its stock markets in recent weeks have sparked fears that it could be at risk of a hard landing, which would hammer world growth.

Markets in countries whose economic fortunes are closely linked to China’s growth tumbled. Japan’s Nikkei average dropped almost 3% to six-week lows on Friday, while the Kopsi index in South Korea fell 1.92%.

Shares in Australia are having their worst month since the global financial crisis hit in October 2008. On Friday afternoon the benchmark ASX200 was down 1.4% at 5,214 points and is down 8.5% so far in August, according to broker Commsec.

The Australian dollar was also hammered, falling 0.45% and went as low as US72.85c. The Aussie, which is seen as a proxy for the Chinese economy, has fallen about 1% in the past week.

The Hang Seng stock index in Hong Kong was down 1.92% while the Shanghai Composite index was 4.2% lower.

Commodities also suffered. US crude hit fresh six-and-a-half year lows near $40 a barrel as it headed for its eighth straight weekly decline, the longest weekly losing streak since 1986. Brent crude for October delivery was down 29c at $46.33.

“Global markets are in panic mode as the full scale of China’s slowdown becomes clearer,” said Angus Nicholson at IG Markets in Sydney.

The long-awaited interest rate rise by the US federal reserve, pencilled in for as early as September by many analysts, was now looking much less likely, Nicholson added.

“The potential for further devaluations in the Chinese yuan not only make a US rate hike in September unlikely, but increasingly even put a December rate hike at risk.”

Japan’s economics minister, Akira Amari, said on Friday that he expected China’s government to take steps to prevent its economic slowdown from becoming a global problem.

The preliminary Caixin/Markit China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 47.1 in August, well below economists’ expectations of 47.7 and down from July’s final 47.8.

The reading was the worst since March 2009, the depths of the global financial crisis, and the sixth straight one below the 50-point level, which separates growth in activity from contraction on a monthly basis.

The flash PMI, the earliest economic measure to be released about China each month, is closely followed by global investors for clues on the health of the economy.

“The poor number confirms what higher frequency data has been suggesting, that more weakness in the economy is likely,” said Chester Liaw, an economist at Forecast in Singapore.

He added: “The authorities claimed that there will be a rebound in demand in the second half but it appears that the opposite is happening. With first half GDP scraping the bottom of the barrel at 7%, the authorities will have a fight on their hands to ensure that the second half of the year comes in at even the same level.”

A detailed breakdown of the activity survey showed conditions were deteriorating on almost every level, with factory output sinking to a near four-year low, domestic and export orders declining at a faster rate than in July and companies laid off more workers.

US Federal Reserve policymakers discussed China, Greece’s debt crisis and the weak state of the global economy at their last meeting in July, according to minutes of the meeting released this week.

US stock futures fell sharply after the PMI report and most Asian stock markets and the Australian dollar extended early losses. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 sank to a more than six-month low on concerns about how China’s slowdown would impact US firms’ earnings and global growth.

Tony Cross, an analyst with Trustnet Direct in London, said the FTSE could be heading for its worst week this year. “As it stands the FTSE 100 is on course to post its biggest weekly decline of the year so far and there’s not a great deal on the agenda that would appear to have the ability to salvage the situation before the weekend break,” he said.

Connor Campbell, an analyst at Financials, also predicted fresh lows. Oil and mining stocks were “drowning in losses” from the beginning of the day, he said.

[Philip]

http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/how-the- ... aval-base/

How the Philippines Plans to Revive a Former US Naval Base

Manila is keen on moving ahead with its plans – with or without a major bilateral pact.
By Dr. Renato Cruz de Castro
August 21, 2015

Amidst the tensions generated by China’s development of artificial islands in the South China Sea, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin reiterated the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) plan to rehabilitate the air and naval facilities in Subic Bay Freeport in the central part of the mainland island of Luzon. Subic Bay, a deep water harbor located fifty 50 miles northwest of Manila facing the South China Sea, was the service and logistic center for the U.S. Seventh Fleet until November 1992. Accordingly, this move will enable the AFP to quickly deploy its fighter planes and frigates to any contingency in the South China Sea in the face of China’s maritime expansion in these disputed waters.

Since 2011, the Philippines has rushed to build up the AFP’s credible defense posture. The Philippine Navy (PN) bought two Hamilton-class U.S. Coast Guard Cutters, and transformed these ships into surface combatants by equipping them with several automatic guns and attack helicopters. The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is set to acquire 12 FA-50 fighter planes from South Korea with the first two jets to be delivered later this year. The AFP intends to station these air and naval assets in Subic Bay which will become the Philippine military’s forward operating base given its proximity to Scarborough Shoal, which China occupied in June 2012.

The Philippine Department of Defense (DND) will spend Php100 million (estimated $2 million) to upgrade some of the former U.S. military facilities of Subic Bay. The Philippine government announced that the rehabilitation of these facilities will happen soon, and it will be focused on the old airport facilities in the former Cubi Point Naval Air Station (CUBINAS). Prior to 1992, CUBINAS served as a base for the U.S. Navy’s P-3 Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft during the Cold War. The PAF will be allotted a 13-hectare portion of the old naval air base where shipping giant Federal Express (FEDEX) used to operate. Along with the air station, a portion of the free port will also be developed as a naval base for PN ships. The free port’s Ship Repair Facility compound will be the homeport of the PN’s latest acquisitions—the BRP Ramon Alacaraz (PF-16) and the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15). Other port facilities such as Alava Pier, Juliet Pier, Bravo Wharf and Rivera Wharf will also be developed as part of the PN’s new naval base.

The Philippine government’s plan to develop Subic Bay as a military facility was first announced in October 2012, four months after the Chinese occupation of Scarborough Shoal. When it was announced, Philippine and U.S. officials confirmed that Subic Bay–once the U.S. 7th Fleet homeport and the primary staging area for all American naval activities in the Southeast Asian waters–as a Philippine military facility that will host U.S. forces on a semi-permanent rotational presence. These U.S. forces will engage the AFP in regular joint exercises to develop the latter’s doctrine and equipment in territorial defense, and enhance the two allies’ interoperability. There were also plans to preposition U.S. logistics assets in the Subic Bay, and utilize some of the port facilities to service U.S. Navy ships. Earlier in April 2012, America’s largest military shipbuilding company, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) subsidiary AMSEC signed an agreement with South Korean Shipbuilding Company Hanjin Heavy Industries and Constructions to provide maintenance, repair, and logistics for U.S. Navy ships using Hanjin’s dry docks in Subic Bay.

On 28 April 2014, Philippine Defense Secretary Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). This executive agreement provides the framework by which the Philippines and the U.S. can develop their individual and collective (defense) capabilities. Such task can be accomplished through the rotational deployment of American forces in Philippine bases. Although the EDCA allows American forces to utilize AFP-owned and -controlled facilities, the Philippine base commander has unhampered access to these locations. Likewise, American built or improved infrastructure inside these installations can be used by the AFP. Furthermore, any construction and other activities within in the Philippine bases require the consent of the host country through the Mutual Defense Board (MDB) and Security Engagement Board (SEB).

Through the EDCA, U.S. forces are afforded two innovative access arrangements in the Philippines, namely: a) forward operating sites – expandable military facilities with limited U.S. military support presence; and b) cooperative security locations – facilities with little or no permanent American presence and maintained by the host-nation. These are less expensive, less visible and less vulnerable access arrangements that offer greater strategic and operational flexibility.

Unfortunately, left-wing groups and ultra-nationalist personalities questioned EDCA’s constitutionality as an executive agreement requiring no concurrence from the Philippine Senate. EDCA is currently in a legal limbo as both sides wait for a decision from the Philippine Supreme Court before the agreement can be implemented. However, confronted by Chinese island building activities in the South China Sea, the Philippine government decided to push through with the development of Subic Bay as a training and forward launching facility for U.S. forces operated by the AFP. Secretary Gazmin admitted that U.S. military (rotational) presence in the AFP military facilities would help. However, if the court decides against EDCA, the Philippine government will still proceed to develop these facilities inside Subic Bay Freeport.

The U.S. Navy has adopted the Philippine government’s pragmatic position of utilizing Subic Bay with or without EDCA. Since mid-2015, several U.S. Navy ships have docked in this former naval facility. In early May, the U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship the U.S.S. Fort Worth (LCS-3) made a brief refueling and resupply stop at Subic Bay. Before the month ended, the Ticonderoga-class-guided-missile cruiser U.S.S. Shiloh (CG-67) arrived in Subic Bay for a port visit. In July, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer U.S.S. Lassen (DDG-82) dropped anchor at the former U.S. naval base for a routine port call. Early this month, the Los Angeles-class attack submarine U.S.S. Chicago (SSN-721) docked in Subic Bay for its first visit to the Philippines. With or without EDCA, both the AFP and the U.S. Navy are exerting their own respective efforts to make Subic Bay again a major staging base for U.S. power projection in the South China Sea.

Dr. Renato Cruz De Castro is a professor in the International Studies Department, De La Salle University, Manila, and the holder of the Charles Lui Chi Keung Professorial Chair in China Studies. He was the U.S. State Department ASEAN Research Fellow from the Philippines.

[SSridhar]

Xi Jinping's reform push faced 'fierce resistance': Report - PTI

Chinese President Xi Jinping's wide-ranging reforms in politics and military backed by a massive anti-corruption drive against "tigers and flies" have faced unimaginably stiff resistance", a media report said on Friday.

"The scale of the resistance is beyond what could have been imagined," Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted an article in the state-run Guangming Daily.

In unusually strong language, the article said the reforms were at a critical stage and had encountered immense difficulties, affecting the interests of various groups.

"The in-depth reform touches the basic issue of reconfiguring the lifeblood of this enormous economy and is aimed at making it healthier," the article said.

Since he took over Xi carried out unprecedented anti-corruption campaign against "tigers and flies", namely high and low level officials in which thousands of officials were punished or faced probes.

He even broke the long held convention of not prosecuting retired leaders by launching probe against Zhou Yangkong, the former security chief chief and standing committee member of the previous Hu Jintao led administration. Zhou was sentenced to life for heavy corruption and excesses.

About 40 military officials including two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest military body, faced probes.

Post quoted observers as saying that the commentary suggested the reforms had not achieved the desired results and were opposed by various factions.

Xu Yaotong, a political science professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said the commentary came amid concerns the anti-corruption campaign was waning and that other reforms had attracted opposition.

"The tone [of the commentary] reads furious," Xu said, adding, "I feel that the central leadership has started to worry, based on the message indicated in the article," he said.

He said the resistance could be from any of three powerful groups: retired leaders who wanted to exert influence, cadres whose power had been weakened and civil servants unhappy with austerity rules.

The publication comes after a series of People's Daily articles this month criticizing retired cadres for continuing to exert influence behind the scenes.

Beijing-based political commentator Zhang Lifan said the commentary signalled that "things are not going well".

"Obviously they did not reach any consensus at the political activities in Beidaihe," the annual informal get-together of Chinese Communist Party leaders at a health resort. Earlier reports said the Beidaihe meet had been cancelled. Different groups are pursuing their own ways. This is a test of the leadership's ability to execute its mission," he said.

Renmin University political science professor Zhang Ming said the reform push had not only failed to deliver results, it might have gone backwards.

"There's resistance not just to the reforms, there's other resistance too," he told Post.

[Philip]

Panic selling grips global markets as stocks crash on China turmoil

More than £130bn is wiped off the FTSE in 10 days as Beijing is set to resort to drastic rate cuts to revive its flagging fortunes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/mark ... rmoil.html

A screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. The DJIA slid 358 points, 2.1 percent, to 16,990. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

By Mehreen Khan
21 Aug 2015

The FTSE 100 capped off a "frightful fortnight" which has seen more than £135bn wiped off from the index as investors were rocked by renewed fears of China's economic hard-landing.

Britain's benchmark index closed down 2.83pc at 6,187 on Friday, ending a ninth consecutive days of falls which has led its descent into official "correction" territory. The index has now fallen by more than 13pc since hitting a high of 7,104 in April.

The panicked sell-off was sparked by another round of disappointing data from China, where factory output (PMI) contracted at its fastest pace since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009.

The latest wave of flagging growth indicators is set to force Beijing into drastic action to revive its fortunes, two weeks after authorities stunned markets by weakening the renminbi and setting off an August market rout.

There is now a "high probability" that the Chinese central bank will move to slash the country's main lending rate (RRR), said analysts at Societe Generale.

• AEP: China's August scare is a false alarm

"It’s been a frightful fortnight for the Footsie," said Laith Khalaf at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The sell-off may yet have further to run, particularly seeing as such a large part of the UK stock market is in thrall to capricious commodity prices".

Panic selling also hit US stocks, where the S&P500 fell below the 2000 mark for the first time since January, putting equities on course for their worst week of trading since 2011. The benchmark index closed the day down 3.2pc at 1,970.97 as soft manufacturing data from the US added to global growth woes.

Broader European markets also suffered their worst week of the year. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 capped off a torrid five days, falling by more than 5.6pc. Germany's DAX was down by 3pc on Friday, while France's CAC40 declined 3.2pc.

"We won’t accept being in the euro area and having bail-out programs imposed on us"

Lafazanis, leader of the new Popular Unity party
Europe's indices were driven lower on a resumption of Greece's woes after prime minister Alexis Tsipras resigned from office, calling snap elections for September 20.

Hard-Left rebels within his Syriza party announced the formation of a breakaway anti-bail-out force called Popular Unity made up of 25 MPs. They are now the third largest party in the Greek parliament.

The rebels, who are led by sacked energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, will seek to club together with far Left forces including the Communist party, to form a minority government over the next three days.

Mr Lafazanis promised to stick by the electoral promises abandoned by his former leader after he was forced to capitulate to creditors' conditions to keep Greece in the eurozone for at least another three years.

The former minister, who boasts close ties with Moscow, vowed to take the country out of the single currency in a "planned exit".

After five years of international bail-outs, Greece has undergone the most severe depression of any developed economy in the modern era.

"We won’t accept being in the euro area and having bail-out programs imposed on us," said the firebrand Marxist mathematician.

Former Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis has formed a new breakaway party but Yanis Varoufakis won't be signing up

But the prospect of a minority government, of either the hard Left or Greece's pro-euro centre-right forces, is unlikely.

Syriza remain the most popular political force in the country, with polls suggesting Mr Tsipras is set to remain prime minister should elections go ahead next month.

"Markets are still fairly unprepared for the next stage of the Greek crisis, and so the selling seen across Europe in particular is driven by fear rather than certainty of an impending crisis" said Josh Mahoney at IG

[SSridhar]

Xi Jinping should be a much embattled man today. He amassed all powers to himself and that makes him a prime target when things begin to go wrong. And, things certaily are going wrong. First, the economy. Then, his aggressive policies with neighbours have united them all. The US rebalance. Then, protests in Hong Kong. Taiwan is not going the way he would have expected either. The stock market. The big resistance to his reforms process within.

[SSridhar]

Fading Economy and Graft Crackdown Rattle China’s Leaders - MICHAEL FORSYTHE and JONATHAN ANSFIELD, New York Times

[SSridhar]

India, Australia to hold first-ever naval drills to counter China in Indian Ocean - Reuters

India and Australia will hold their first ever joint naval drills next month, as the two countries seek to deepen defence ties and counter China's growing sway in the Indian Ocean.

The maritime exercises, to be held in the Bay of Bengal off India's eastern coast next month, will include anti-submarine warfare and coordinated anti-submarine drills, the Australian High Commission in Delhi said in a statement.

The Indian Ocean is fast emerging as a new arena of competition between China and India as New Delhi tries to regain its position as the dominant maritime power in what it views as its backyard.

China shocked India last year with two submarine visits to Sri Lanka's commercial port in Colombo. The island nation's general election this month returned a government friendly to India and the West, cementing a shift that followed the election of a new president in January.

David Brewster, a security expert at the Australian National University, said the Chinese submarine activity had served as a "wake-up call" that India needed to work more closely with other navies.

"We are seeing right across Asia many countries realising the importance of submarines," he told Reuters.

"India knows that it needs to build up its capacity in submarines and particularly anti-submarine warfare. It's an area where both (India and Australia) can learn a lot from each other."

India is also set to take part in joint naval exercises with Japan and the United States in October, the first such event in eight years.

Australia said it would send a frigate, tanker, submarine and a Lockheed AP-3C maritime surveillance aircraft to join the Indian navy for the bilateral exercises in September.

An Indian Navy spokesman said four of its ships, as well as a Boeing P-8 Poseidon spy plane, would take part in the week-long drills that start on Sept. 12.

[SSridhar]

US plans more Asia-Pacific drills to counter China's expansion in South China Sea - Reuters, Economic Times

The United States plans to increase the number of military and humanitarian drills it conducts in the Asia-Pacific as part of a new strategy to counter China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said on Wednesday.

Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, highlighted key aspects of the Pentagon's freshly drafted Asia Pacific Maritime Security Strategy during talks with his Filipino counterpart, General Hernando Iriberri, during a visit to Manila.

Colonel Restituto Padilla, a military spokesman, told journalists that the report outlined Washington's set of actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea, focusing on the protection of "freedom of seas", deterring conflict and coercion, and promoting adherence to international law.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims.

A military source, who was in the meeting between Harris and Iriberri, told Reuters the US and the Philippines are expected to increase the size, frequency and sophistication of exercises in the region.

Since China's land reclamation efforts began in December 2013, it has reclaimed more than 2,900 acres (1,170 hectares) of land as of June 2015, the Pentagon said last week in a report on its Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy.

The reclamation campaign significantly outweighed efforts by other claimants in size, pace and nature, the Pentagon report said.

China says the outposts will have undefined military purposes, as well as help with maritime search and rescue, disaster relief and navigation.

[SSridhar]

China jails 45 on terror-related charges in Xinjiang region - PTI

Forty-five people, including five arrested while attempting to join the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the Taliban, have been given jail terms ranging from four years to life in China's restive Xinjiang region for terrorism and human trafficking.

The autonomous regions' higher people's court on Thursday said that the 45 were tried in 10 cases in courts in Yili, Aksu, Hotan, Kashgar and Karamay recently.

In a case tried in Kashgar, five locals were sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison after being arrested on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan while attempting to join the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and Taliban terrorist groups.

The group often gathered together to read books on religious extremism, watch videos featuring violent terrorism and conspire to migrate to other countries to join jihad, the local court found.

[SSridhar]

China's Xi Jinping, Barack Obama's aide hint at underlying tensions ahead of summit - AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama's key national security aide hinted at tensions that divide their countries on Friday ahead of a state visit to Washington by Xi.

Meeting in Beijing with US national security adviser Susan Rice, Xi said that he looks forward to continuing a dialogue with Obama next month and working to ensure that China-US relations keep expanding.

"China attaches great importance to the growth of the China-US relationship," Xi said.

"We stand ready to further promote our practical cooperation, effectively manage the sensitive issues between us and strengthen the friendship between the people of both countries."

Rice responded that Xi's visit to the US will provide a "great opportunity" for the two countries "to strengthen and deepen our relationship" as they seek ways to benefit their peoples as well as the world.

"At the same time, we obviously have issues of difference and some difficulty that we need to work through and we will continue to do so," she said.

Xi's visit to the US comes as the countries have shown a willingness to cooperate on global matters ranging securing a nuclear deal with Iran to climate change.

But they have also clashed over issues including what Washington and some regional countries see as China's increasing assertiveness in Asia as well as its territorial disputes with countries close to the US such as the Philippines and Japan.

The tone of Rice's talks with other Chinese officials earlier Friday was similar to her encounter with Xi, highlighting areas of cooperation while recognising differences.

Rice told state councillor Yang Jiechi, China's top foreign policy official of the latter that both sides "acknowledge their need to be addressed effectively".

Yang said China and the US will stay in close communication on subjects including "the Iran and North Korean nuclear issues" and climate change, along with questions of "regional rights and interests".

That could refer to the South China Sea and East China Sea, where Beijing is embroiled in territorial disputes with its Southeast Asian neighbours and US treaty ally Japan respectively.

The US and China, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, participated in negotiations that secured a landmark nuclear deal with Iran last month.

Beijing and Washington have also worked together as members of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, which also take in Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow and Pyongyang.

That forum has been essentially dormant for years though China, which serves as host, supports its revival.

Rice also met with Fan Changlong, a vice chairman of the Communist Party's powerful Central Military Commission, which is chaired by Xi.

The US envoy said Washington was "deeply committed to building a healthy, stable, reliable military-to-military relationship with China" and stressed an agreement last year to "reduce the risk of unintended consequences" in encounters.

Rice's visit comes as China prepares to hold a massive military parade next week to commemorate victory over Japan in World War II, though the US, as well as major Western countries, will not be sending top officials to participate.

[A_Gupta]

Uyghur hand in blasts in China and Thailand
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/uyg ... 55909.html

The August 12 blast in Tianjin, China, which killed 114 people, and the blast in Bangkok, Thailand, recently, was the handiwork of Chinese separatist Uyghur groups, and which the Chinese Government has been trying to hide, suggests a revealing story published in the Brussels-based European Parliament (EP).

It seems clear from the EP Today story that the Chinese leadership may have thought there was something more than meets the eye with regard to the veracity of the chemical warehouse blast theory.

The fact that China has tasked the investigation to its head of Intelligence Services, who is the Senior Minister for Public Security, is a sure pointer that this was no industrial accident, but an act of terror, which has globally embarrassed China, says the Brussels based publication.

Beijing named Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun to supervise the investigation of the alleged chemicals warehouse blast instead of allowing a local official or someone centrally responsible for industrial safety to probe the matter.

According to EP Today, the Chinese Government is sensitive about anybody uttering the word Uyghur, and describes Uyghurs as terrorists who are to be criticised always. China also discourages its media from mentioning or publishing any report of a possible Uyghur involvement in the Tianjin blast. It also says that the fact that Tianjin has had a colony of Uyghurs for years must be kept under wraps and not highlighted.

When it comes to the recent explosion in a temple complex in Bangkok, Thailand, the EP Today story claims that there were reports in circulation that the bombing was retaliation for Thailand sending back 109 Uyghurs back to China a month ago.

It is also mentioned that the temple was targeted because it is frequented by Chinese nationals, and that the Uyghurs wanted to send an appropriate message across to the Chinese leadership that they could strike when they want and wherever they want.

(e.g., http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 8#p1868618 )

[SSridhar]

China shadow looms over Naga Accord - G.Parthasarathy, BusinessLine

The recent “framework” for a Nagaland Peace Accord inked on August 3, by NSCN (IM) leader Thingaleng Muihvah and the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee RN Ravi, has raised hopes for the establishment of peace and harmony in Nagaland.

Successful implementation of a Peace Accord would also benefit the neighbouring States of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, where there are Naga populations, by ending decades of insurgency and ethnic conflict. In expressing optimism about success of this Framework Accord, reference is often made to the Rajiv Gandhi-Laldenga Accord of June 30, 1986, which has brought about lasting peace, harmony and development in Mizoram. This would, however, be a simplistic assumption.

The Mizoram Accord was inked by the Mizo National Front led by Laldenga, who was the sole and undisputed leader of the Mizo uprising, in a State which is not afflicted with tribal differences and rivalries. Moreover, the Accord was signed when there were no foreign patrons or havens left for the Mizos.

The 8-point Accord clearly spelt out the extent of autonomy the Mizos would enjoy, the process for laying down arms and ammunition and measures for resettlement of underground personnel. This was combined with the conferment of full Statehood and establishment of a separate High Court for Mizoram.

China angle

While the details of the recent Nagaland “framework” have not been made public, it is acknowledged that many complex issues remain to be sorted out. While the demand for a “Greater Nagaland” embracing the territories of Nagaland and Naga dominated areas in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh appears to have been given up by the NSCN (IM), the issue of Regional Councils or other such institutions for Nagas in the three neighbouring States will remain contentious, especially given the none-too-happy experiences following the establishment of a Bodoland Council in Assam.

Moreover, Naga society is afflicted by tribal rivalries and by the presence of large number of armed groups, each with its own sense of self-importance. Finally, the most powerful insurgent group after the NSCN (IM), the NSCN (Khaplang), which broke along standing cease fire agreement with New Delhi on March 7 and killed 18 Indian soldiers on July 4,remains implacably opposed to the August 3 Accord.

The NSCN (K) is predominantly Myanmar based and its cadres are trained and operate from areas in the neighbouring Sagaing Division and the Kachin State. These areas are along the borders with China, where the Myanmar Government has scant control and China now freely consorts with Indian separatist outfits.

New Delhi has to bear in mind and react imaginatively to the reality that Myanmar now faces serious problems on its borders with China’s Yunnan Province in the Shan and Kachin States. The Chinese have a cosy relationship with the Kachin Independence Army, which exercises full control of areas in Kachin State bordering China.

Ever since they were ousted by Sheikh Hasina from Bangladesh scores of members of north eastern separatist groups including the NSCN (K), ULFA, the Peoples’ Liberation of Army of Manipur and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland have taken refuge along the Myanmar-China border, in Kachin State.

These groups have now come under the umbrella of an NSCN (K) led and quite evidently Chinese backed grouping, calling itself the “United National Front of West Southeast Asia”.

As its name suggests, the grouping is exclusively India centric. We are evidently seeing a return to Chinese policies of the Maoist era, when China backed and armed separatist groups along our borders with Burma and the then East Pakistan.
Importance of Myanmar

Given the policy of NSCN (K) to seek a peace accord for its people and desist from violence within Myanmar, it is unlikely that Myanmar will be in a position to respond positively to any request for the extradition of the NSCN (K) leadership. What can at best be achieved is obtaining Myanmar pressure on the Khaplang leadership to get the NSCN (K) to join the Nagaland peace process and desist from violence. The Home Ministry and needs a word of caution on this score. They should curb the propensity to seek media publicity and conduct all moves involving Myanmar, maintaining strict secrecy.

Apart from the inability of the Myanmar Government to exercise control over areas of Kachin State bordering China, where Indian insurgent groups are based and are strengthening links with China, Myanmar itself seems headed for political uncertainty, as the country heads toward elections for a new Parliament and President on November 8. The two main Parties are the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi (who is still ineligible to be elected as President by the Legislature) and the army backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by the Parliament Speaker and former Armed Forces Chief General (Thura) Shwe Mann.

The army establishment, in which former military ruler Senior General Than Shwe wields considerable influence, is still averse to Aung San Suu Kyi, or her Party assuming, or influencing the Presidency.

In these circumstances, both Shwe Mann, who realistically realised that his Party the military backed USDP would receive a drubbing in the elections and Suu Kyi who needed Army support to become eligible for office, appeared to be moving towards a deal, in which Su Kyi’s NLD would back a Shwe Mann bid for President, after the elections. Sensing this, President Thein Sein, with the backing of the current armed forces Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and quite evidently the former Junta Leader Senior General Than Shwe, acted decisively to marginalise Shwe Mann. While positioning himself for re-election, President Thein Sein removed Shwe Mann for the post of the Party Chief of the USDP and himself took charge of the Party. Troops of Myanmar Army positioned themselves around the offices of the USDP and the residence of Shwe Mann. The die was cast and the message sent that while Suu Kyi would enjoy respect as an elected leader, the army would resist her access to effective executive power. It remains to be seen how developments play out in Myanmar.

It is evident that in dealing with implementation of the August 3 MoU with the NSCN (IM), New Delhi will have to tread carefully internally and externally, in its relations with Myanmar.

The writer is a diplomat and former Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan

[schinnas]

India needs to repay in kind by supporting Balochis and Afghanis to blow up Cheen investments there. The deadly attacks on Indian army by NSCN (K) could not have come without Cheen tactical support. It is time Cheen get a taste of their own medicine.

[SSridhar]

Obviously, the Chinese economic malaise has been a few years in the making.

What if China becomes Japan of the '80s? Rattled citizens on economic slowdown - Edward Wong, New York Times

[Prem]

Obviously, the Chinese economic malaise has been a few years in the making.

What if China becomes Japan of the '80s? Rattled citizens on economic slowdown - Edward Wong, New York Times

He told so in 2013 what will be happening to China. Very interesting observation.Worth watching in full.

[SSridhar]

China luring Indian pharma scientists with 3 times higher pay to boost formulations segment - Raja Reddy Kesireddy, ET

Chinese drug firms have begun luring senior scientists from Indian companies with strengths in documentation and English language to gain competence in the formulations segment. This trend is picking up at a time when India is trying to cut down its dependence on the Chinese supplies for bulk drugs or raw materials that go into making medicines.

The poaching from across the border could threaten the Indian drug makers and further heat up competition between the two Asian economies.

Though both nations boast of equal number of US FDA-approved manufacturing facilities, China leads in bulk drugs by a wide margin, while India is ahead in production and export of generic drugs, especially to regulated markets.

India has some 700 US FDA approved facilities, while China has about 600 such FDA approved plants. However, India got approvals for more than 300 drug master files (DMFs) accounting for nearly a third in the US market, whereas China lagged with around 150 DMFs approved, according to an report of November 2014.

A senior commerce ministry official, who did not want to be named, said, "Chinese companies of late are increasingly hiring the cream of Indian pharmaceutical scientists with strengths in formulations, some of whom are currently working with Indian pharmaceutical companies with operations in China. At least, 50-60 Indian pharmaceutical professionals were recruited by the Chinese firms in the management cadre over the past two years."

Chinese pharmaceutical companies are offering tempting pay packages, nearly 2.5-3 times more than what the Indian firms are paying, to attract Indian scientists to Chinese firms, said CV Narayan Rao, executive vice president at Natco Pharma. Rao, who was in China for nearly five years as head of Asia Pacific operations for the joint venture of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, said, "Apart from hefty pay package, Indian scientists get attracted to the robust urban and manufacturing infrastructure the Chinese entities offer, apart from a safe work environment."

Confirming the trend, director general of India's Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) PV Appaji told ET, "Several instances of certain leading Chinese pharmaceutical firms hiring top Indian pharmaceutical scientists have come to our notice. It could be aimed at augmenting filing of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) in the US and other regulated markets as China is currently building huge capacities to produce copycat medicines. We guess this trend should over a period of time help Indian companies increase their presence in China and vice versa."

A top Indian scientist, who did not wish his or his Chinese company's name to be identified, said he could not refuse the hefty salary and facilities offered two years back by his current employer on the east coast of China near Shanghai. Chinese drug makers that are increasingly hiring Indian talent pool have their facilities facilities in the provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hebei.

Chinese government and companies are scouring across the globe for talent by organising job fairs to attract specialised workforce, given their swelling need for a well trained workforce to support plans to move up the value chain in the life sciences sector, said KPMG's life sciences head Utkarsh Palnitkar.

"As China moves up the value chain from manufacturing 'simple to manufacture' molecules to 'more complex to manufacture', there will be a growing need to focus on research and development activities, that will push the demand for specialized job roles further," he told ET, adding that China was luring the Indian talent pool with its competitive compensation and benefits packages, given the growing demand for talent pool. Nazia Vasi, founder of Inchincloser, an Indo-China language and cultural consultancy, said, "Nearly 15 out of 100 top professionals in a recent batch that learnt Mandarin (official language of People's Republic of China) were from the pharmaceutical sector."

Palnitkar of KPMG said Chinese firms have been investing substantially on research and development (R&D) over the past few years with the R&D spent on pharmaceutical industry crossed $3,250 million in 2011 from a mere $162 million a decade back. The emerging trend could prove a major threat to the prospects of Indian drug makers, reckons Sujesh Vasudevan, president and head of Glenmark's India business. "China appears to have realized that there is no much value in active pharmaceutical ingredients and it is time for moving up the value chain. The Chinese have proved a serious threat and India should wake up before it is too late."

[srin]

Two articles, same subject, one pure economic and the other real-politik

India should support Chinese yuan's SDR candidacy, says chief economic advisor

"On the Renminbi, I think we have an unambiguous interest in supporting the Renminbi becoming the part of SDR basket. I said so because essentially as the Chinese currency becomes more and more international, china will have to open up its economy which is good for the world, good for China.

He said China should be allowed to get the geo-political benefits arising out of its currency becoming more international because the concrete economic manifestation is that it will both open up and tie Chinese economy.

Can India make China sweat?

Citigroup economists put it very well: “Once a country can print a currency which is internationally accepted as a store of value, then its need for precautionary holdings of other countries’ reserve currencies
will fall.” Freed of the obligation to maintain reserves, China can also pursue many more reforms in its factor markets and in the financial sector. Thus, the inclusion of the Chinese yuan in the SDR basket is China’s “get out of jail” card.

India must make China sweat for the yuan admission into the SDR basket as China has made India sweat for a seat in the UN Security Council and continues to do so.

The Wall Street Journal discussed the benefits to India from China’s economic troubles. India should note that the benefits will also vanish if China’s economic troubles vanish. Put bluntly, the longer China’s economic troubles persist and the longer it takes for the Chinese currency to enter the SDR basket, the better it is for India.

[panduranghari]

Unbelievable. And we have these morons in the government!!

[SSridhar]

Unbelievable. And we have these morons in the government!!

Absolutely. China cares nothing for India and we should care nothing for her. In any case, it is not interested in giving us market access. OTOH, it is doing everything to screw us even more. When will we learn that when there is no reciprocity extended, we do not need to extend our hand?

[RKumar]

I was going to post exactly same ... we should not put our weight behind if we don't get anything in direct return. It is give and take ...

India must make China sweat for the yuan admission into the SDR basket as China has made India sweat for a seat in the UN Security Council and continues to do so.

[panduranghari]

Chinese Yuan is an interesting beast. Onshore yuan (CNY) and offshore yuan (CNH) are independent beasts. The turmoil in the shenzen index suggests the PBOC wants to bring them together. This in a way suggests, the IMF has more or less agreed to include Yuan in the SDR basket which they will announce in November as they always do. The idea is not to have a currency fully convertible, but it means its more usable. And the only people who will find yuan usable is those who have a lot of investment in China viz. mainly Americans.

I think this is the game played by US federal reserve and PBoC to keep the current game going for a bit longer. How long? God knows. or may be as long as they can get a global agreement to ban fiat currency.

They are going to fail anyway. We are already in the terminal phase of this blow off. Watch the markets. Get out of them.

[Prem]

http://www.northeasttoday.in/india-myan ... erational/

( check the map in the link)

The Myawaddy-Thinggan Nyenaung-Kawkareik section of the Asian highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand has been put into service.Myanmar Vice President U Nyan Tun, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and Chairman of the Kayin National Union General Saw Mutu Sae Po attended an inaugural ceremony of the service on Sunday, Xinhua reported.With the 25.6-km-long section becoming operational, travel time between Thinggan Nyenaung and Kawkareik will be reduced from three hours to 45 minutes. The construction of the Asian highway section started in 2012 with the assistance of Thailand. The Asian highway runs from Moreh in India to Thailand’s Maesot via Myanmar’s Tamu, Mandalay and Myawaddy.
The section, also part of the East-West economic corridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion, will not only enhance trade between Myan- mar and Thailand, but also contribute to better links among people in the region. A cornerstone laying ceremony was also held at Myawaddy on Sunday for the building of Myanmar-Thailand Friendship Bridge No.2 to link Thailand’s Maesot with Myanmar’s Myawaddy.Notably, it has been quite sometime that Myanmar and India has been talking about introducing bus service between Imphal and Mandalay.

[Vayutuvan]

What is Renminbi is what is Yuan? Does Taiyuan mean "big money"? I am extrapoltaing from Taiphoon (big wind) and Taipan .

[SSridhar]

Aus opposes 'militarisation' in S China Sea, says India's role 'critical' - PTI

In a veiled attack on China, Australian defence minister Kevin Andrews on Wednesday strongly opposed the use of "intimidation and aggression" in the disputed South China Sea and said India's role was critical in stability of Indian Ocean region and wider global order.

The visiting Australian minister, who called for deeper defence ties with "key strategic partner" India, also pitched for a quadrilateral naval exercise with Japan and the US as was done in 2007.

Underlining that Australia recognises India's "critical role" in supporting the security, stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region and the stability of a wider, rules-based global order, Andrews said tensions in the Indo-Pacific persist, and in some cases are becoming more acute.

"Territorial disputes continue to risk regional stability and create uncertainty. One issue that has attracted a lot of international attention in recent months is the South China Sea. Australia has a legitimate interest in the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law, unimpeded trade and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea," he said, delivering a lecture at defence ministry- run think tank IDSA.

Stressing that all States have a right under international law to freedom of overflight in international airspace, he said all countries should respect this.

"Australia strongly opposes the use of intimidation, aggression or coercion to advance any country's claims or to unilaterally alter the status quo. We are particularly concerned about the possible militarisation of features in the South China Sea," he said.

Andrews said Australia encourages practical implementation of commitments under the Declaration on Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea and urged China and the ASEAN member countries to make early progress on a substantive Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.

Noting that both India and Australia border the Indian Ocean, he said they have a shared interest in the maintenance of freedom of navigation and trade.

"In fact, the world economy is fast becoming reliant upon Indian Ocean trade as its bulk cargo grows. Australia recognises India's critical role in supporting the security, stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region and the stability of a wider, rules-based global order.

"This is why Australia views India as a key strategic partner - and there is scope for us to cooperate further on broader global issues," he said.

Asked if he would be in favour of a quadrilateral naval exercise as done in 2007, he said, "If indeed quadrilateral opportunities arise in the future, we would be having an inclination to be part of those exercises".

Terming such "relationship" as important, Andrews said this was something that he would discuss with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar.

[svinayak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtwFmyZ ... 191.013461
Geopolitics - China
Published on Nov 6, 2012
Zeihan explains why the Chinese miracle isn't all that miraculous. (spring 2011)

[Prem]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada ... ow_twitter
Five Chinese ships seen off Alaska coast, Pentagon says

Five Chinese naval ships are currently positioned in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, US officials confirm.It is believed to be the first time Chinese military vessels have been seen operating in the area.Officials say they have been monitoring the ships' activities, but said they were operating in international waters.In recent years Beijing has taken a more assertive stance on maritime territorial disputes with Japan and South East Asian nations.US defence officials have spotted three Chinese combat ships, a supply vessel and an amphibious ship moving toward the Aleutian Islands which is split between Russian and US control, according to the Wall Street Journal.They were seen not far from where US President Barack Obama is visiting as part of his three-day tour of Alaska to raise awareness of the effects of climate change on the state."We are aware of the five People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships in the Bering Sea. This is the first time we have observed PLAN ships in the Bering Sea," US defence department spokesman Bill Urban told the BBC on Wednesday.
"We respect the freedom of all nations to operate military vessels in international waters in accordance with international law," he added.Another official told the Wall Street Journal the defence department did not "characterise anything they're doing as threatening".Peter Dutton, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute, described it as a big advancement in the way Chinese ships operate.
But, he tells the BBC, "it's not a surprise in a sense that the Chinese have been continually expanding their presence in Eurasia"."They have conducted exercises with Russia in the Mediterranean and in the Sea of Japan... they have interest in the northern sea route so to see them off the coast of Alaska is the next evolutionary step along these lines."Patrick Cronin, of the Center for a New American Security. agrees, saying "it's part of a pattern over the last six years or so of China getting tougher in maritime space".China wants to rewrite international maritime laws so that they are more favourable to its own interests, particularly in the South China Sea where rival countries are wrangling over territory, Mr Cronin adds.China this year boosted its defence spending in a bid to modernise its forces, including developing stealth fighters and anti-satellite missiles, a move that has unnerved the US and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.

[SSridhar]

Xi Jinping: China to reduce military by 300,000 - Reuters & PTI

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China will cut its number of troops by 300,000, as he kicked off a massive military parade marking 70 years since the end of World War Two in Asia.

China will always go down the path of peaceful development, Xi added, speaking on a rostrum overlooking Tiananmen Square.

The comments were carried live on state television.

This is part of efforts by the PLA which operate with annual defence budget of USD 145 bullion, the second highest after US to streamline its force as it launched unprecedented modernisation with new weapons and technology.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) which was 4.5 million strong till 1980 was first resized to three million in 1985 and later to 2.3 million.

The cut of three lakh troops comes in the back drop of massive anti-corruption drive being conducted by Xi who, beside being the President, is also the chief of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the head of the military.

About 40 high ranking military officials including two former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission (CMC) are facing anti-corruption probes in an unprecedented revamping of the army.

After taking over in 2013, Xi placed more emphasis on practical training involving live firing drills and want the army to be ready to win wars as it acquired latest weaponry including long range missiles, new generation of aircraft, aircraft carriers as well as ground weapons.

The revamping of the military also comes as China is locked in a major stand off over maritime disputes in South China Sea with several East Asian countries who are backed by the US as well as in the East China Sea with Japan.

On the ground China is locked in a border dispute with India and Bhutan even though it settled border issues with the 12 other countries.

[SSridhar]

China has established its presence across PoK - Peerzada Ashiq, The Hindu

To a visitor to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) travelling from Islamabad to Muzaffarabad, the Chinese presence cannot go unnoticed.

For instance, there are saffron tents of Chinese workers on the banks of the Jhelum and the Neelum rivers and signboards in the Mandarin asking drivers to slow down.

Pakistan has opened up the PoK to foreign investment after the 2005 earthquake, which left 80,000 people dead.

From offices to schools and from medical colleges to power projects, foreign countries are rebuilding the PoK capital, with China taking the lead in developing road infrastructure and building major power projects, along with the Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan.

[svinayak]

https://youtu.be/CXov7MkgPB4?t=1898
Why China Cannot Rise Peacefully

India mentioned in this video

October 17, 2012
University of Ottawa

JOHN MEARSHEIMER, University of Chicago.

Presented by the Security Studies Network at CIPS.

John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He served as an officer in the U.S. military for five years before pursuing graduate studies and receiving his Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University in 1980. Between 1979 and 1999, he was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University and was the Whitney H. Shepardson Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Professor Mearsheimer has written extensively about security issues and international politics more generally. He has published five books: Conventional Deterrence (1983), which won the Edgar S. Furniss, Jr., Book Award; Liddell Hart and the Weight of History (1988); The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001), which won the Joseph Lepgold Book Prize and has been translated into eight different languages; The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (with Stephen M. Walt, 2007), which made the New York Times best seller list and has been translated into twenty-one different languages; and Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics (2011), which has been translated into ten different languages. He has also written many articles that have appeared in leading academic journals and popular magazines, as well as a number of op-ed pieces for the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times dealing with topics like Bosnia, nuclear proliferation, American policy towards India, the failure of Arab-Israeli peace efforts, and the invasion of Iraq.

[kit]

Time to start thinking of Tibet as an independent country

[SSridhar]

Friendship Between Putin and Xi Becomes Strained as Economies Falter - JANE PERLEZ and NEIL MacFARQUHAR, NYT

[Paul]

Is PRC announcement of 300K reduction in army manpower a signal to India that they are lower in the threat index and Japan/US threat perception is higher or China?