7 New Messages
Digest #4454
Messages
Mon Aug 6, 2012 3:47 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.business
Press Trust of India
August 5, 2012
NATO containers attacked in Balochistan
Islamabad: Armed men attacked and torched two NATO container trucks bound for Afghanistan in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan today, security officials said.
The men opened fire at the NATO trucks in Nach area of Khuzdar district.
They set the trucks on fire and fled.
No one was injured in the attack, officials of the Levies militia said.
The trucks carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan were on their way to the Chaman border crossing.
Levies personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search to track down the attackers.
Pakistan ended a seven-month blockade of supply routes to Afghanistan earlier this month after the US apologised for a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November.
The US and Pakistan have also signed a memorandum of understanding on the transit of NATO supplies to Afghanistan.
There have been several attacks on NATO vehicles after the supply routes were reopened by Pakistan.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Press Trust of India
August 5, 2012
NATO containers attacked in Balochistan
Islamabad: Armed men attacked and torched two NATO container trucks bound for Afghanistan in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan today, security officials said.
The men opened fire at the NATO trucks in Nach area of Khuzdar district.
They set the trucks on fire and fled.
No one was injured in the attack, officials of the Levies militia said.
The trucks carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan were on their way to the Chaman border crossing.
Levies personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search to track down the attackers.
Pakistan ended a seven-month blockade of supply routes to Afghanistan earlier this month after the US apologised for a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November.
The US and Pakistan have also signed a memorandum of understanding on the transit of NATO supplies to Afghanistan.
There have been several attacks on NATO vehicles after the supply routes were reopened by Pakistan.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Mon Aug 6, 2012 3:47 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.globalti
Global Times
August 6, 2012
South China Sea is not US playground
The US Department of State criticized China over the establishment of the Sansha city and garrison last week. US action was partial to Vietnam and the Philippines, and may encourage them to further oppose China.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong opposition to the statement Saturday. The two powers had a rare stormy diplomatic quarrel over territorial disputes in Southeast Asia.
It comes as no surprise that the US is increasingly backing Vietnam and the Philippines on the South China Sea issue. When these two countries have taken the initiative over this issue, the US's attitude seems more neutral. But once China has accumulated some advantage, Washington instantly gives up its position of neutrality to balance China.
The city of Sansha has been established. China will certainly not change its mind because of some comments from the US. The latest US statement will have zero influence on China.
Although the US statement encourages Vietnam and the Philippines, these two countries will not believe that this statement can really change the situation in the South China Sea. Meanwhile without the statement from Washington, Hanoi and Manila would not stop provoking China.
It is true that the US has influence in the South China Sea. But obviously, the US cannot do whatever it wants. Vietnam and the Philippines were very active in provoking China not long ago, which was potentially influenced by the US.
But those days have passed, and the US can no longer cause tempests in the South China Sea only by a wink or a cough. Washington's influence in the South China Sea is dropping.
Current tensions in the South China Sea have put countries in the region on alert. Further provocations from the US would not necessarily be followed by Hanoi and Manila. They might even be suspicious of US intentions.
Although China has no plan to solve disputes in this region immediately, China will not allow Vietnam and the Philippines to take advantage of US power to decide the balance of the South China Sea at will.
After collecting some benefits from the first round of provocations in the South China Sea, the US seems to believe this kind of small trick could be used again and again, and continues to disrupt the situation in this region.
But all involved parties in the South China Sea expect peace instead of unrest. Only by meeting these real expectations can the US maintain its influence in this region.
The South China Sea is not the Caribbean. The US should keep that in mind.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Global Times
August 6, 2012
South China Sea is not US playground
The US Department of State criticized China over the establishment of the Sansha city and garrison last week. US action was partial to Vietnam and the Philippines, and may encourage them to further oppose China.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong opposition to the statement Saturday. The two powers had a rare stormy diplomatic quarrel over territorial disputes in Southeast Asia.
It comes as no surprise that the US is increasingly backing Vietnam and the Philippines on the South China Sea issue. When these two countries have taken the initiative over this issue, the US's attitude seems more neutral. But once China has accumulated some advantage, Washington instantly gives up its position of neutrality to balance China.
The city of Sansha has been established. China will certainly not change its mind because of some comments from the US. The latest US statement will have zero influence on China.
Although the US statement encourages Vietnam and the Philippines, these two countries will not believe that this statement can really change the situation in the South China Sea. Meanwhile without the statement from Washington, Hanoi and Manila would not stop provoking China.
It is true that the US has influence in the South China Sea. But obviously, the US cannot do whatever it wants. Vietnam and the Philippines were very active in provoking China not long ago, which was potentially influenced by the US.
But those days have passed, and the US can no longer cause tempests in the South China Sea only by a wink or a cough. Washington's influence in the South China Sea is dropping.
Current tensions in the South China Sea have put countries in the region on alert. Further provocations from the US would not necessarily be followed by Hanoi and Manila. They might even be suspicious of US intentions.
Although China has no plan to solve disputes in this region immediately, China will not allow Vietnam and the Philippines to take advantage of US power to decide the balance of the South China Sea at will.
After collecting some benefits from the first round of provocations in the South China Sea, the US seems to believe this kind of small trick could be used again and again, and continues to disrupt the situation in this region.
But all involved parties in the South China Sea expect peace instead of unrest. Only by meeting these real expectations can the US maintain its influence in this region.
The South China Sea is not the Caribbean. The US should keep that in mind.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Mon Aug 6, 2012 3:47 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://english.
Interfax
August 6, 2012
Saakashvili: Georgia will enter NATO and EU and return "occupied" lands
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili visited several Georgian villages near the South Ossetian border on Monday evening and promised their residents that Georgia would return the "occupied" lands and that it would enter NATO and the European Union.
"We will unite our country and return our lands by all means… Russia will never be able to swallow the occupied lands of central Georgia as no invader has been able to do," he said.
"Georgia will definitely join the European Union and it will definitely become a NATO member. Nobody can prevent us from doing that," Saakashvili said.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Interfax
August 6, 2012
Saakashvili: Georgia will enter NATO and EU and return "occupied" lands
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili visited several Georgian villages near the South Ossetian border on Monday evening and promised their residents that Georgia would return the "occupied" lands and that it would enter NATO and the European Union.
"We will unite our country and return our lands by all means… Russia will never be able to swallow the occupied lands of central Georgia as no invader has been able to do," he said.
"Georgia will definitely join the European Union and it will definitely become a NATO member. Nobody can prevent us from doing that," Saakashvili said.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Mon Aug 6, 2012 7:21 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.news4jax
News4Jax
August 6, 2012
17 countries in Mayport for training
Mayport hosting one of world's largest multinational training exercises
MAYPORT, Fla. - Naval Station Mayport is one of several locations around the nation that will be the host to one of the largest multinational training exercises in the world, PANAMAX 2012.
PANAMAX 2012 is focused on the defense of the Panama Canal and the Central American region by a multinational combined/joint task force. The exercise will be held at Mayport from Monday to Aug. 16.
...
PANAMAX 2012 happens every year and takes place in the Western Caribbean Sea and locations in the United States, including Mayport, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Miami, Stennis, Mississippi and others.
...PANAMAX 2012 is designed to ensure plans are in place to respond to requests from the government of Panama and also Colombia for this year's iteration.
PANAMAX has evolved over many years and now includes training for the constantly evolving nature of new threats in today's security environment.
The main goal of PANAMAX is to develop and test command and control of forces at sea. Training addresses the spectrum of maritime, air, land, space, and cyber operations.
...
The representatives who will be in Mayport for nearly two weeks will be from Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the U.S.
PANAMAX began in 2003 with three countries: Panama, Chile and the U.S. Exercise participation has greatly expanded every year since. In 2004, nine nations took part; in 2005, 15 nations were involved; in 2006, 18 nations participated; in 2007, 19 nations took part, and last year 20 nations were a part of it.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
News4Jax
August 6, 2012
17 countries in Mayport for training
Mayport hosting one of world's largest multinational training exercises
MAYPORT, Fla. - Naval Station Mayport is one of several locations around the nation that will be the host to one of the largest multinational training exercises in the world, PANAMAX 2012.
PANAMAX 2012 is focused on the defense of the Panama Canal and the Central American region by a multinational combined/joint task force. The exercise will be held at Mayport from Monday to Aug. 16.
...
PANAMAX 2012 happens every year and takes place in the Western Caribbean Sea and locations in the United States, including Mayport, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Miami, Stennis, Mississippi and others.
...PANAMAX 2012 is designed to ensure plans are in place to respond to requests from the government of Panama and also Colombia for this year's iteration.
PANAMAX has evolved over many years and now includes training for the constantly evolving nature of new threats in today's security environment.
The main goal of PANAMAX is to develop and test command and control of forces at sea. Training addresses the spectrum of maritime, air, land, space, and cyber operations.
...
The representatives who will be in Mayport for nearly two weeks will be from Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the U.S.
PANAMAX began in 2003 with three countries: Panama, Chile and the U.S. Exercise participation has greatly expanded every year since. In 2004, nine nations took part; in 2005, 15 nations were involved; in 2006, 18 nations participated; in 2007, 19 nations took part, and last year 20 nations were a part of it.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Mon Aug 6, 2012 7:26 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://usa.chinadai
Xinhua News Agency
August 5, 2012
US-led war games detrimental to Asia-Pacific stability
BEIJING: Since the start of the year, US armed forces have massively and incessantly engaged in joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.
The notable increase of US military presence in the region has sent a dangerously wrong message to some countries and thus undermines the region's peace and stability.
Plus the just concluded 2012 Pacific Rim Joint Military Exercise, US warships and fighter jets have participated in almost 20 war games in the Asia-Pacific during the past seven months, more than half of all war games conducted in the area during the same period.
It seems that the United States has developed a fresh yen for waging military exercises with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Apart from the drills' dazzling intensity, what is more alarming is that some of these exercises have even openly taken China as the imaginary enemy.
Behind the US newly-established fondness of war games in Asia-Pacific is the country's paranoia that a fast growing China would jeopardize its interests and its self-claimed leadership in the region.
The Obama administration, since its first year in office, has demonstrated a fervent desire to deter China by strengthening its military alliances with countries like South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, as well as some other Southeast Asian nations.
By setting China as its simulated foe and making a parade of its military prowess in the region, the United States intends to send out a message that no one is allowed to challenge its dominant position in the region.
Additionally, the United States has also been active in trying to play the role of an arbitrator in maritime disputes between China and some of its Asian neighbors despite China's constant opposition and steadfast stance that these territorial differences should be settled bilaterally.
Another reason for the rising military involvement of Washington in the region this year is that by trying to play tough against China, Obama could hopefully woo more voters in his presidential race.
The US moves, based on Cold War mentality, would only aggravate regional tensions and plague China-US relations.
Moreover, they would embolden a few regional countries to take rather irresponsible attitudes when handling their maritime disputes with China, and further push the entire Asia-Pacific area to the brink of military conflict.
China has all along been unequivocal on its commitment to peaceful development. It has never tried to translate its burgeoning economic power to regional domination. Meanwhile, China welcomes a constructive and positive US role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Though it is convenient for the Obama administration to play tough with China for political gains, strong and vibrant relations between China and the United States bring far more benefits.
Also, the United States has to fully understand that it is impossible to bend China's will to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the region.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Xinhua News Agency
August 5, 2012
US-led war games detrimental to Asia-Pacific stability
BEIJING: Since the start of the year, US armed forces have massively and incessantly engaged in joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.
The notable increase of US military presence in the region has sent a dangerously wrong message to some countries and thus undermines the region's peace and stability.
Plus the just concluded 2012 Pacific Rim Joint Military Exercise, US warships and fighter jets have participated in almost 20 war games in the Asia-Pacific during the past seven months, more than half of all war games conducted in the area during the same period.
It seems that the United States has developed a fresh yen for waging military exercises with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Apart from the drills' dazzling intensity, what is more alarming is that some of these exercises have even openly taken China as the imaginary enemy.
Behind the US newly-established fondness of war games in Asia-Pacific is the country's paranoia that a fast growing China would jeopardize its interests and its self-claimed leadership in the region.
The Obama administration, since its first year in office, has demonstrated a fervent desire to deter China by strengthening its military alliances with countries like South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, as well as some other Southeast Asian nations.
By setting China as its simulated foe and making a parade of its military prowess in the region, the United States intends to send out a message that no one is allowed to challenge its dominant position in the region.
Additionally, the United States has also been active in trying to play the role of an arbitrator in maritime disputes between China and some of its Asian neighbors despite China's constant opposition and steadfast stance that these territorial differences should be settled bilaterally.
Another reason for the rising military involvement of Washington in the region this year is that by trying to play tough against China, Obama could hopefully woo more voters in his presidential race.
The US moves, based on Cold War mentality, would only aggravate regional tensions and plague China-US relations.
Moreover, they would embolden a few regional countries to take rather irresponsible attitudes when handling their maritime disputes with China, and further push the entire Asia-Pacific area to the brink of military conflict.
China has all along been unequivocal on its commitment to peaceful development. It has never tried to translate its burgeoning economic power to regional domination. Meanwhile, China welcomes a constructive and positive US role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Though it is convenient for the Obama administration to play tough with China for political gains, strong and vibrant relations between China and the United States bring far more benefits.
Also, the United States has to fully understand that it is impossible to bend China's will to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the region.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Mon Aug 6, 2012 7:34 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.china.
Graphics at URL above
China Daily
August 6, 2012
US military swings to Asia-Pacific region
Washington revised its military cooperation over the weekend with two of its major Asian allies as part of a revamp of its Asia strategy, that analysts said are aimed at curbing China.
The United States and Japan agreed on a proposed second revision of the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation during Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto's trip to Washington on Friday.
Morimoto met with his US counterpart Leon Panetta on Aug 3 to exchange views on the Guidelines, a document released in 1978 and first revised in 1997. The chiefs have agreed to initiate relevant discussions.
Yet some believe the revised plan is aimed at reining in China, and preparing for unexpected incidents in the East China Sea, Japan's leading newspaper Sankei Shimbun said.
Both defense chiefs agreed that the big picture of security in the region has changed since 1997 due to China's growing maritime presence and Pyongyang's nuclear plans, Japan's Jiji Press News Agency said.
Panetta has been advocating for Tokyo to deploy Osprey military aircraft to the US base in Okinawa, Japan, despite previous air crashes. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said in late July that China's presence in the ocean is "obvious" and the deployment of Osprey military aircraft to Okinawa will help boost Tokyo's defense.
Japan's armed forces on Thursday also announced plans for a joint military drill with US forces in Okinawa later this month, Kyodo News Agency said.
The news agency quoted a spokesman for the six-day drill, planned to start on Aug 21, as saying that the exercise is aimed at "strengthening defense capabilities to guard islands", and is not planned to run counter to "any specific nation states".
Meanwhile, Yonhap News Agency on Sunday said Seoul and Washington are in talks to create a new joint military operation body as both sides agreed to dissolve the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, and Seoul plans to retake wartime operational control of its troops from the US in 2015.
The CFC has served as a command structure for the joint operation of military forces of the two allies since the 1950-53 Korean War. Seoul handed over control to the US shortly after the start of the war.
As the Obama administration gradually implements its Asia-Pacific strategy, the US armed forces are considering a return to some bases in Southeast Asia to extend its reach in the region.
The Pentagon has intensified discussions with Thailand about creating a regional disaster relief hub at an American-built airfield that housed B-52 bombers during the 1960s and 1970s.
In June, Panetta also visited Vietnam's naval and air base at Cam Ranh Bay, making him the highest-ranking US military official to do so since the end of the Vietnam War. The defense minister hailed the promising prospect of US ships again becoming a common sight at the deep-water port.
The US armed forces are also seeking a greater presence in the Philippines, including at the Subic Bay naval base and the former Clark Air Base, once the largest US military installation in Asia, as well as a key repair and supply hub during the Vietnam War.
Washington has been forging closer military ties with countries in the region and has announced that 60 percent of the US Navy's fleet will be based in the Asia-Pacific by 2020, up from less than 55 percent at present.
Currently, the US fleet is almost evenly split between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has sped up moves to reshuffle the military chiefs in charge of the region, as General Herbert Carlisle officially took office on Friday as the new commander of the US Command of Pacific Air Forces.
The command includes units in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Japan and the ROK. Carlisle's new job came just months after US Navy four-star admiral Samuel Locklear was appointed as Commander of US Pacific Command in March.
Experts said joint military drills and enhanced security cooperation has become Washington's favored way to boost military presence, and since the start of the year, US armed forces have increasingly engaged in joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Rim of the Pacific Drills 2012, led by Washington and held in Hawaii and surrounding maritime areas, involved 22 countries and wrapped up on Friday.
US warships and fighter jets have also participated in almost 20 war games in the Asia-Pacific over the past seven months, more than half of all war games conducted in the area in that period, Xinhua News Agency reported.
US Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter traveled to Thailand in late July, and praised the multilateral military exercise between the two countries known as Cobra Gold. The annual exercise began in 1980 and Carter said has been "key to enhancing cooperation in the region".
Economic factors
Analysts said economic and financial factors are behind Washington's recent series of moves stressing security cooperation and rebuilding mutual trust with countries in the region.
Zhang Junshe, deputy director of the Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said enhancing military alliances is a must for the Obama administration, which has been troubled by financial problems.
"The US has not entirely recovered from the global economic downturn, and its increasing calls to involve alliances are aimed at sharing the burden," Zhang said.
Washington's dependence on military alliances is mounting, and some US politicians have even asked countries like Australia to increase their defense budget to "pay the bill", Zhang Junshe also warned.
The return of the US armed forces to the region is not just "a matter of power", but also serves the profit of US trade, analysts said.
Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said Washington is considering its return to Asia in the economic sphere.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a major trade framework campaigned by Washington, "serves as an economic basis for stabilizing and enhancing the US' strategic presence in the region", Zhu said in an article in the Beijing-based Contemporary International Relations magazine in April.
Meanwhile, Washington is also facing challenges in the region.
In Japan, around 200 locals gathered on Aug 5 in Iwakuni city to protest the deployment of the Osprey aircraft, Kyodo reported.
Xinhua also warned that the notable increase of US military presence in the region has sent a dangerously wrong message to some countries and thus "undermines the region's peace and stability".
Despite the record number of participating countries in the Pacific joint drill, some of the countries do not intend to contain China and they refuse to take sides between China and the US, Zhang added.
Australia also remains cautious of the Pentagon's shifting of might back to the region. Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said on Thursday that while negotiations were under way to increase US navy access to Australia's Indian Ocean base, HMAS Stirling, it would never become a US military base.
"We have made it crystal clear from the first moment - we don't have United States military bases in Australia. We don't see the need for that," Smith told Australian Broadcasting Corp television.
Australia on Thursday also rejected a proposal by a Washington-based think tank to base a nuclear aircraft carrier strike group on Australia's west coast.
A Pentagon-commission
The Australian base would give the US a second carrier strike group in the Asia-Pacific region, the first with an existing Japanese home port in Yokosuka.
Hugh White, head of Australian National University's Strategic and Defense Studies Center, said American combat troops had not been based in Australia since World War II and that was unlikely to change in the future.
"There's a concern that the more the US builds up its military posture in the Western Pacific as part of President Barack Obama's pivot to Asia, the higher the risk that the US-China relationship will become more competitive, more adversarial, more hostile," White told The Associated Press.
White warned such move "pushes Australia close to the point of having to make a choice between the US and China, and that's something we badly want to avoid".
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Graphics at URL above
China Daily
August 6, 2012
US military swings to Asia-Pacific region
Washington revised its military cooperation over the weekend with two of its major Asian allies as part of a revamp of its Asia strategy, that analysts said are aimed at curbing China.
The United States and Japan agreed on a proposed second revision of the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation during Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto's trip to Washington on Friday.
Morimoto met with his US counterpart Leon Panetta on Aug 3 to exchange views on the Guidelines, a document released in 1978 and first revised in 1997. The chiefs have agreed to initiate relevant discussions.
Yet some believe the revised plan is aimed at reining in China, and preparing for unexpected incidents in the East China Sea, Japan's leading newspaper Sankei Shimbun said.
Both defense chiefs agreed that the big picture of security in the region has changed since 1997 due to China's growing maritime presence and Pyongyang's nuclear plans, Japan's Jiji Press News Agency said.
Panetta has been advocating for Tokyo to deploy Osprey military aircraft to the US base in Okinawa, Japan, despite previous air crashes. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said in late July that China's presence in the ocean is "obvious" and the deployment of Osprey military aircraft to Okinawa will help boost Tokyo's defense.
Japan's armed forces on Thursday also announced plans for a joint military drill with US forces in Okinawa later this month, Kyodo News Agency said.
The news agency quoted a spokesman for the six-day drill, planned to start on Aug 21, as saying that the exercise is aimed at "strengthening defense capabilities to guard islands", and is not planned to run counter to "any specific nation states".
Meanwhile, Yonhap News Agency on Sunday said Seoul and Washington are in talks to create a new joint military operation body as both sides agreed to dissolve the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, and Seoul plans to retake wartime operational control of its troops from the US in 2015.
The CFC has served as a command structure for the joint operation of military forces of the two allies since the 1950-53 Korean War. Seoul handed over control to the US shortly after the start of the war.
As the Obama administration gradually implements its Asia-Pacific strategy, the US armed forces are considering a return to some bases in Southeast Asia to extend its reach in the region.
The Pentagon has intensified discussions with Thailand about creating a regional disaster relief hub at an American-built airfield that housed B-52 bombers during the 1960s and 1970s.
In June, Panetta also visited Vietnam's naval and air base at Cam Ranh Bay, making him the highest-ranking US military official to do so since the end of the Vietnam War. The defense minister hailed the promising prospect of US ships again becoming a common sight at the deep-water port.
The US armed forces are also seeking a greater presence in the Philippines, including at the Subic Bay naval base and the former Clark Air Base, once the largest US military installation in Asia, as well as a key repair and supply hub during the Vietnam War.
Washington has been forging closer military ties with countries in the region and has announced that 60 percent of the US Navy's fleet will be based in the Asia-Pacific by 2020, up from less than 55 percent at present.
Currently, the US fleet is almost evenly split between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has sped up moves to reshuffle the military chiefs in charge of the region, as General Herbert Carlisle officially took office on Friday as the new commander of the US Command of Pacific Air Forces.
The command includes units in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Japan and the ROK. Carlisle's new job came just months after US Navy four-star admiral Samuel Locklear was appointed as Commander of US Pacific Command in March.
Experts said joint military drills and enhanced security cooperation has become Washington's favored way to boost military presence, and since the start of the year, US armed forces have increasingly engaged in joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Rim of the Pacific Drills 2012, led by Washington and held in Hawaii and surrounding maritime areas, involved 22 countries and wrapped up on Friday.
US warships and fighter jets have also participated in almost 20 war games in the Asia-Pacific over the past seven months, more than half of all war games conducted in the area in that period, Xinhua News Agency reported.
US Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter traveled to Thailand in late July, and praised the multilateral military exercise between the two countries known as Cobra Gold. The annual exercise began in 1980 and Carter said has been "key to enhancing cooperation in the region".
Economic factors
Analysts said economic and financial factors are behind Washington's recent series of moves stressing security cooperation and rebuilding mutual trust with countries in the region.
Zhang Junshe, deputy director of the Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said enhancing military alliances is a must for the Obama administration, which has been troubled by financial problems.
"The US has not entirely recovered from the global economic downturn, and its increasing calls to involve alliances are aimed at sharing the burden," Zhang said.
Washington's dependence on military alliances is mounting, and some US politicians have even asked countries like Australia to increase their defense budget to "pay the bill", Zhang Junshe also warned.
The return of the US armed forces to the region is not just "a matter of power", but also serves the profit of US trade, analysts said.
Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said Washington is considering its return to Asia in the economic sphere.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a major trade framework campaigned by Washington, "serves as an economic basis for stabilizing and enhancing the US' strategic presence in the region", Zhu said in an article in the Beijing-based Contemporary International Relations magazine in April.
Meanwhile, Washington is also facing challenges in the region.
In Japan, around 200 locals gathered on Aug 5 in Iwakuni city to protest the deployment of the Osprey aircraft, Kyodo reported.
Xinhua also warned that the notable increase of US military presence in the region has sent a dangerously wrong message to some countries and thus "undermines the region's peace and stability".
Despite the record number of participating countries in the Pacific joint drill, some of the countries do not intend to contain China and they refuse to take sides between China and the US, Zhang added.
Australia also remains cautious of the Pentagon's shifting of might back to the region. Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith said on Thursday that while negotiations were under way to increase US navy access to Australia's Indian Ocean base, HMAS Stirling, it would never become a US military base.
"We have made it crystal clear from the first moment - we don't have United States military bases in Australia. We don't see the need for that," Smith told Australian Broadcasting Corp television.
Australia on Thursday also rejected a proposal by a Washington-based think tank to base a nuclear aircraft carrier strike group on Australia's west coast.
A Pentagon-commission
The Australian base would give the US a second carrier strike group in the Asia-Pacific region, the first with an existing Japanese home port in Yokosuka.
Hugh White, head of Australian National University's Strategic and Defense Studies Center, said American combat troops had not been based in Australia since World War II and that was unlikely to change in the future.
"There's a concern that the more the US builds up its military posture in the Western Pacific as part of President Barack Obama's pivot to Asia, the higher the risk that the US-China relationship will become more competitive, more adversarial, more hostile," White told The Associated Press.
White warned such move "pushes Australia close to the point of having to make a choice between the US and China, and that's something we badly want to avoid".
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Mon Aug 6, 2012 7:46 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.pajhwok.
Pajhwok Afghan News
August 6, 2012
World won’t abandon Afghanistan: ISAF
By Muhammad Hassan Khetabon
KABUL: The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), insisting on strengthening and equipping Afghan security personnel, on Monday said the international community would not abandon Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal.
ISAF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Günter Katz told a press conference in Kabul that the global fraternity, ISAF and NATO member states were working with the Afghan government to ensure better security in the country.
...
Katz said NATO and the entire world had announced they would continue assisting Afghanistan beyond 2014 as reflected in strategic agreements between Kabul and several nations, including the US, India, Italy, Australia, Germany and France.
...
The official said some foreign troops would remain in Afghanistan after 2014 to cooperate with security forces in various fields.
Pajhwok Afghan News
August 6, 2012
World won’t abandon Afghanistan: ISAF
By Muhammad Hassan Khetabon
KABUL: The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), insisting on strengthening and equipping Afghan security personnel, on Monday said the international community would not abandon Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal.
ISAF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Günter Katz told a press conference in Kabul that the global fraternity, ISAF and NATO member states were working with the Afghan government to ensure better security in the country.
...
Katz said NATO and the entire world had announced they would continue assisting Afghanistan beyond 2014 as reflected in strategic agreements between Kabul and several nations, including the US, India, Italy, Australia, Germany and France.
...
The official said some foreign troops would remain in Afghanistan after 2014 to cooperate with security forces in various fields.
