Target Centermass

Category: Asia Pacific

  • North Korea Demands American Apology

    Apology denied.

    The chief U.S. delegate to multilateral talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability has sharply criticized Pyongyang’s demand for broader arms reduction talks. North Korea also wants a formal apology for what it considers an insult by the United States.

    U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill is flatly rejecting North Korea’s demand for a “more equitable footing” in six-party talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs.

    In a lecture to South Korean students Friday, Ambassador Hill was stinging in his response.

    “It was not helpful. It was, frankly, not serious,” Mr. Hill says.

    Ambassador Hill is the top U.S. delegate to the talks, which also involve Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea.

    […]

    South Korean officials say they will respond to the statement after they have fully interpreted it. For now, they have been repeating Seoul’s position of zero tolerance for nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula.

    Ambassador Hill, however, made it clear he has little patience for North Korean pronouncements.

    “I think they ought to come to the table, and if they want to make sarcastic statements, they can make them to me. And stop with these silly press announcements,” Mr. Hill says.

    Just in case you ever wanted to know how “Blow it out your ass” translated into diplo-speak.

  • More on EU’s Chinese Arms Ban

    In my previous post, I blogged against the push by France to lift the European Union’s current ban on weapons sales to China. I also blogged against France in general and Jacques Chirac in particular, but that was for fun.

    Today, my stance finds unexpected support — a Los Angeles Times editorial (courtesy of the Decatur Daily Democrat). I’ll omit the initial and closing paragraphs, which consist of the expected qualifications against the U.S. and the Bush administration.

    China’s adoption of an anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan that reserves the right to use military force plays into the hands of the Bush administration and Congress, which adamantly oppose the sale of European weapons to China. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice increased the pressure Monday when she declared in Beijing that if the EU lifted the ban, it “would not send the right signal.”

    European weapons sales would stoke the Asian arms race, even if they would be unlikely to radically change the region’s balance of power. If the Europeans sold advanced fighter jets to China, Taiwan would turn to the United States for increased sales, which Congress would almost surely approve. But for China, which nurses memories of being carved up by Western imperial powers in the 19th century, the issue is primarily about pride; it’s livid at still being treated as a pariah nearly 16 years after the brutal suppression of Tiananmen Square demonstrators.

    France, the world’s third-biggest weapons seller, has never hesitated to provide African and Middle East dictators with arms, and is chafing to treat China like a normal country that poses no threat to peace. What’s more, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana says the embargo is “unfair” and wants to increase the organization’s clout by wooing Beijing.

    China has been counting on these two allies to prevail, but it overlooked the unwieldy, democratic nature of the EU. No matter how powerful France is inside the union, it can’t, like the Chinese Politburo, carry out its will by fiat. For one thing, Germany doesn’t want to risk another quarrel with the United States. And China’s peremptory anti-Taiwan move has emboldened Britain and other countries to point to Beijing’s abysmal human rights record. Without a consensus, the EU cannot terminate the weapons ban.

    Also coming out with similarly ominous warnings was a think tank with affiliations with the Japanese Defence Ministry.

    The [National Institute for Defence Studies’] report said the future of the military balance between China and Taiwan was becoming unclear as China moves ahead with the modernisation of its military.

    It warned that lifting Europe’s embargo on arms exports to China could help Beijing vastly improve its weaponry and military technology.

    Russia, a long-time supplier of arms to China, would likely see Europe as its rival and launch an aggressive campaign to sell more arms to Beijing, the report said.

    “We believe Russia would try aggressively to sell arms to China if the European Union lifts its embargo on arms exports,” said Tomio Kougami, one of the experts who wrote the report.

    An interesting twist there, that a lifting of the EU ban could actually spur greater arms dealings from Russia to China. All the more reason the push back against Chirac’s efforts in this matter.

  • Chirac: Lifting Chinese Arms Ban ‘Legitimate’

    It’s just Jacques being his usual cheese-dick Jacques self: Oui, we should sell arms to China.

    French President Jacques Chirac told a concerned Japan that China’s desire for the European Union to lift its arms embargo was “legitimate” and would not entail exports of sensitive weapons and technology.

    France has been a prime supporter of ending the ban on selling arms to China, a move opposed by both the United States and its ally Japan.

    “The prime minister told me of his concerns. He asked me for explanations,” Chirac told a joint news conference after talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

    “I indicated to him that the decision of the European Union does not imply a change in exports of sensitive arms or technology to China as they are subject to rules which cannot be broken,” Chirac said.

    “Hence the decision does not mean things would change. It’s a political decision,” he said.

    “We believe that this lifting is legitimately sought by China and that’s why we have taken this decision.”

    Koizumi reiterated Japan’s opposition to lifting the embargo.

    “We told the president that we are against it,” Koizumi said.

    “Japan does not regard China’s economic growth as a threat. Rather we regard it as an opportunity. However, in relation to security concerns such as the Taiwan issue Japan has been asking for a peaceful resolution,” Koizumi said.

    The European Union had initially set a goal of lifting the ban by the end of June, when the presidency of the 25-member bloc shifts from Luxembourg to Britain.

    Britain had suggested that the end of the weapons sale ban could be delayed after China on March 14 adopted the Anti-Succession Law. Chinese Foreign Ministry said China opposes to linking the lifting of arms ban with the new law, saying they are irrelevant.

    But Chirac has vowed to push ahead and end the embargo by the end of June.

    Look, there’s a reason that the U.S. Army only somewhat-jokingly divides its answers in armor vehicle identification to three categories — friend, foe or French. The bastards have historically proved that they’ll sell to anyone. It’s all about the Franc.

    Ahh, the French, unable to successfully protect themselves since the days of Napoleon, and quite willing to expect the Americans to save their collective asses for almost a century. Don’t give me that crap about WWI until you read John Mosier’s The Myth of the Great War and can counter the argument that, contrary to prevailing opinion that American intervention only provided the Allies’ tipping point, the Americans actually saved an imcompetent French military from destruction. I won’t discuss the WWII or Indochina French debacles, but will point that the country meekly chose the wrong side of history by hedging its bets by bailing out of the military side of NATO in 1966 (only to boldly return to the fold in 1992 after the Cold War was over).

    It’s all about the Franc. Despite the obvious, oh so obvious, intentions of the Chinese.

    It’s all about the Franc.

    Hey, Jacques, let me be the first to welcome you and your ilk to the wrong side of history once again.

  • We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

    JohnL over at TexasBestGrok has a regular installment he calls Aircraft Cheesecake in which he focuses on an particular airplane from days gone by. The latest is a look at an interesting Soviet bomber prototype from the ’30s.

    Now, Varifrank has posted some seacraft cheesecake about a couple of massive Japanese WWII submarines, the wreckage of one of which was just confirmed today. Perhaps most interesting about these two subs was that, with the fall of Japan, they were ordered to surrender while en route to attack North America … from the air. Go read about these fascinating submarines that were also submersible carriers.

  • Vietnamese Agent Orange Claim Dismissed

    If the 2004 presidential election proved anything, it’s that the controversial legacy of the Viet Nam War ain’t going away anytime soon. Well, maybe one lawsuit spawned by the conflict will finally be laid to rest.

    A U.S. federal judge has ruled American chemical companies are not liable for damages caused by the spraying of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

    Judge Jack Weinstein Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that accused the companies of committing war crimes by producing the highly toxic chemical.

    The suit was filed on behalf of Vietnamese citizens who have blamed Agent Orange for health problems including cancer and birth defects.

    U.S. forces sprayed some 80 million liters of the chemical during the war to kill jungle foliage that communist forces were using as cover.

    Judge Weinstein said the plaintiffs’ claims have no basis under any national or international laws. He also said the plaintiffs had failed to prove a clear link between Agent Orange and their illnesses.

    There was no immediate reaction from plaintiffs or the Vietnamese government.

    So many aspects of that war against communist aggression, one of the key hot theaters of the Cold War, have long since become indelibly and unfairly cemented into the public mind — the tales of American atrocities, images of a summary execution or a naked child running in fear, the anguished stereotypical veteran, the phrase “We had to destroy the village in order to save it” (which I plan to blog about at a later date), and the lingering horrors of the defoliant Agent Orange.

    What is the truth behind the actual health effects of exposure to Agent Orange? Well, despite today’s decision, the scientific jury is still out decades later. However, as the Mackenzie Institute noted in a paper on the controversy surrounding depleted uranium rounds, the evidence to date is not looking too good for those who continue to trumpet the evils of the defoliant.

    Anyone remember Agent Orange?

    Starting in 1969 and continuing through until the early 1990s, hundreds of Vietnam veterans blamed health problems, tumors and even psychological conditions on purported exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The Agent Orange scare was strongly encouraged by the environmental lobby, the Peace Movement, and the Hanoi government. Fabricating or distorting evidence is quick and simple, while a truth that depends on scientific evidence can take a long time to show up. Naturally, as the scientists were dragging their heels, the media turned to the sensationalists and the Agent Orange Myth took on a life of its own.

    Dioxin, the accused killer in Agent Orange can be dangerous and in large dosages is very lethal … to laboratory rats. Exposures humans receive are another matter. However, the thousands of Italians who were exposed to heavy doses of dioxin in a 1976 industrial accident did not develop excessive birth defects or reproductive failures. A 1984 Journal of the American Medical Association article on workers who had been exposed to a heavy dose of dioxins in a 1949 accident indicated these men did not have higher rates of cancer, heart or liver damage, nerve problems, kidney damage, reproductive problems or birth defects than was the average for men of their age group. They did have slightly higher rates of chloracne and digestive tract ulcers — both of which are quite treatable.

    If any Vietnam Veterans had come down with problems related to Agent Orange, it would have been the high living “cowboys” of the Ranch Hand project — the US Airmen who actually sprayed the stuff. Flying at near-stall speeds about 50m above ground level, these servicemen took a lot of ground-fire. Indeed, one of their aircraft — known as “Patches” — is in the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. Often, they ended up coated in Agent Orange when they sprayed it or had it sluicing around their ankles after being shot-up again. Moreover, at initiations for new members of their Squadron, both the newcomers and the older veterans would drink a glass of the defoliant.

    Over 1,174 of the 1,206 veterans of this squadron have participated in a careful 20-year study of the results of their exposure to Agent Orange. Net result? The Ranch Hand group continues to have the same mortality rate as their control group of 1,293 similar men — and both have a lower mortality rate than the average American Male population. The only real difference in rates of those ailments associated with dioxin, despite massive exposure to Agent Orange, was that the Ranch Hand vets had a slightly higher tendency to display problems related to heavy drinking — something many of them engaged in as young servicemen on a nerve-wracking duty.

    Otherwise, after $400 million in real research, the great Agent Orange scare turned out to be a bust. Real — verifiable and accurate — scientific research does not indict the material. However, it remains an article of faith among environmentalists and peace-movement members that the stuff is deadly. They believe and that is enough.

    Too bad the verdict has already been rendered in the court of public opinion, but that’s true of so much about the Viet Nam War.

  • China: Projecting the Power Projection

    Previously, I’ve blogged about a recent Pentagon report looking at the modernization program undertaken by the Chinese military, writing the following:

    This is important as, on the ground, China has the obvious numerical advantage. Their problem would be in projecting this power. The areas they are focusing upon (missiles, aircraft, subs) are crucial in their ability to threaten Taiwan and blunt our ability to support the Taiwanese defenses.

    Similarly, I’ve examined a proposed piece of Chinese anti-seccession legislation which China could use as a legal foundation for an assault on Tiawan. In that post, I concluded as follows:

    Though they are working to upgrade and enhance their forces, it is doubtful that China currently has the air and naval capabilities to attack and bring about a successful conclusion before the impact of U.S. assistance to Taiwan is felt. A failed assault by China could possibly serve to strengthen Taiwan’s position in international circles while weakening China’s at home.

    Again, just last night I again warned about a possible arm race looming with China as they seek to upgrade their ability to project their power.

    Call it just lucky timing, as today I found an extensive and detailed examination of the matter by McQ over at the QandO blog. McQ has done an excellent job of drawing on several sources to flesh out Chinese strategy, both in the immediate future and for decades.

    McQ starts from essentially the same baseline that I did.

    One of China’s problems, in that regard, has been its inability, militarily to attack Taiwan and then sustain its army. A) it doesn’t have the military transport (in shipping) to land and sustain an army on Taiwan and B) it doesn’t have the navy to protect those sealanes (i.e. the Taiwan straits) even if it did have the transport.

    China has the air transport to accomplish an airborne invasion, but airborne troops are very light fighters and would be overwhelmed fairly quickly. What China needs, obviously, is naval shipping which can land troops and armor for that type of an operation.

    After that, McQ’s research points towards a more dire near-future situation than I had previously estimated.

    I’m not trying to be an alarmist here, and certainly if the Chinese are only getting a few Zubars to check out, it would argue against an imminent invasion of Taiwan. But to me the signs are unmistakable.

    Another obvious part of any plan to invade Taiwan would be their navy, and the most important requirement for their navy is to be of the strength and capablity to hold the Taiwan Straits indefinitely in order for any invasion force to have a chance at success.

    Are the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) preparing for that? According to reports, they may very well be doing exactly that with a two phase strategic plan.

    […]

    Personally, and this is my opinion, I think Taiwan’s days are numbered if China is successful in implementing the plan outlined here. It will be a few decades from now but it seems apparent that China has plans to take the island whether the US or the world care.

    There’s an eye-opening amount of information in McQ’s work — go give it a read.

  • Looming on the Horizon

    China, begging to start another arms race.

    China will increase spending on its military by 12.6 percent this year to $29.9 billion, a government spokesman said Friday, adding to a series of recent annual double-digit rises.

    The announcement comes as Beijing expands its military to back up its frequent threats to attack self-ruled Taiwan, which the communist mainland claims as part of its territory.

    Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for China’s parliament, disclosed the budget figure at a news conference on the eve of the opening of the legislature’s annual session. Jiang didn’t give any details of how the military intended to spend the money.

    China’s total military spending is believed to be as much as several times the announced figure.

    China has announced double-digit increases in military spending nearly every year for more than a decade as it modernizes the 2.5-million-member People’s Liberation Army, the world’s biggest fighting force.

    Beijing has spent billions of dollars on acquiring Russian-made fighter jets, submarines and other high-tech weapons.

    Note to self: at least they were on our side in Red Dawn.

  • Bloody Day for Military Helicopters

    Weather Suspected in Deadly Marines Crash

    A top U.S. general said Wednesday there was severe weather at the site of a U.S. Marine helicopter crash in of western Iraq and that he had no reports of enemy fire in the area. President Bush expressed sorrow at the loss of life and said he knew Americans would find the new deaths discouraging.

    […]

    Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the top Marine commander in Iraq, said in a videotaped statement from his headquarters in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, that 30 Marines and one Navy sailor were killed. He made no mention of a possible cause and said a recovery team was at the crash site.

    Sattler identified the aircraft as a CH-53E Super Stallion, which is the largest helicopter in the American military. He provided no details about the circumstances of the crash; he said the victims were members of the 3rd Marine Aircract Wing and 1st Marine Division but was not more specific.

    Vietnamese Helicopter Crashes; 16 Dead

    A Vietnamese military helicopter crashed in northern Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing all 16 people aboard, officials said Thursday.

    A loud explosion was heard just minutes after the Russian-made helicopter took off from Me Island off the coast of Thanh Hoa province Wednesday afternoon, officials of Nghe An province said.

    The bodies of three crew members and 13 military officers, including the commander of Military Zone 4 based in Nghe An and his deputy, have been recovered.

    The military is investigating the cause of the crash.

    The military is a dangerous business, even when bullets aren’t flying. My best wishes to the families.

  • Nuclear Submarine Accident Kills 1 Sailor

    The military, even during peacetime exercises and operations, is a dangerous business. This fact has tragically demonstrated again.

    A nuclear submarine that ran aground about 350 miles south of Guam, killing one crewman and injuring 23 others, was due back at its home port in Guam on Monday, according to a Navy spokesman.

    There were no reports of damage to the USS San Francisco’s reactor plant, but the extent of damage to the 360-foot submarine would be determined when it gets to port, said Jon Yoshishige, spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The vessel was moving under its own power.

    Officials said they still don’t know what the Los Angeles-class submarine hit Saturday, but Lt. j.g. Adam Clampitt of the Pacific Fleet said it had been conducting operations underwater at the time.

    The incident is under investigation, said Yoshishige.

    Navy medical personnel from Guam have been brought aboard the submarine to treat the injuries, which included broken bones, lacerations, bruises and a back injury, the Navy said. The submarine has a crew of 137.

    The name of the sailor who died was being withheld pending a mandatory 24-hour waiting period, the Navy said. The sailor’s next of kin had been notified.

    Located west of the international date line, Guam is a U.S. territory about 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.

    During the Cold War, this could very well have been a game of cat and mouse between an attack sub and a missile boat that went awry. Who knows? That may still be the a case.

  • Tsunami Update

    Latest counts of the devastating casualties:

    Summary: Tsunami Deaths by Country

    Ways to donate:

    Earthquake: How to Help [Updated Extensively 12/29]

    Also, please check out the map created by elgato at the Swanky Conservative for a look at the geographic immensity and human tragedy of the disaster.