"Facebook is part of the CIA" "Amazing"

Sino-US Security Issues In Asia

As concept of security widened in post cold war politics in different dimensions, its essence of traditional view could not change even in 21st century. Every state of the world shapes conventional notion of security complying with its own regional environment and requirements. In Far East and South Asian regions, emergence of China has determined security issues. Every participant of the region re-securitizes its strategic policies by itself or by being ally of the USA. Sino-oriented securitization paradigm has become a pivotal part of international strategic studies because the USA perceives threats from it to its geopolitical and strategic interests in the region.

The geopolitical-cum-economic strategic significance of region is very momentous; as according to Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN about 3.1 billion people out of the world’s total 6.4 billion reside over here; presence of important international maritime transport route; nuclear proliferation in the form of de jure Indian, Pakistani, North Korean nuclear programs and having capacity to make nuclear devise within three to six months by Japan, emergence of marvelous economic integration in ASEAN under strong Sino-oriented order, existential presence of world’s 4 major economic hubs (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, and to some extent South Korea) in this area make it more important, hence the volatile security situations of the region.

China International General Aviation Convention 2011

Raytheon Excalibur Ia-2 Ready for Use in Afghanistan

Raytheon Company successfully fired nine rounds in U.S. Army lot acceptance tests, which means the Excalibur Ia-2 precision-guided projectile is ready for U.S. Army and Marine Corps use in Afghanistan.

Building on the proven technology of the Excalibur Ia-1, the Excalibur Ia-2 includes upgrades designed to meet the projected threat environment, while maintaining true precision and accuracy of better than a 6-meter circular error probable. Excalibur Ia-2 also extends the range of Excalibur Ia-1 from 24 to 37.5 kilometers, which is 50 percent farther than conventional artillery. Excalibur's first-round precision enables it to defeat fleeting and persistent targets.

"The precision Excalibur provides is essential to the missions our warfighters are conducting in urban and surrounding environments. It protects structures, the population and our warfighters," said Lt. Col. Mike Milner, U.S. Army Excalibur Product Manager. "The Excalibur Ia-2 rounds going into theater will give the warfighter the ability to accurately defeat targets before the target can run and hide."

The Excalibur precision-guided projectile is available regardless of time of day or environment, giving warfighters life-saving options. Excalibur complements air-delivered precision when close air support is unavailable or not the best option. With more than 500 rounds fired to date, Excalibur has made its mark on the battlefield.

China relying less on Russia for weapons, energy: think tank

China's dependence on Russia for arms and energy imports has declined and Moscow's position when dealing with Beijing has weakened as a result, a Swedish think tank said.

"Decreasing dependence on Russian arms exports and a growing number of alternative energy suppliers mean that China has taken the upper hand in the relationship," the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report released Monday.

A key to the changing dynamic, the report said, is that China "is today mainly interested in acquiring technology to develop its own arms industry," and so its need for Russian-made weaponry has diminished.

Moscow has proved unwilling to sell its most sophisticated systems to Beijing, because it fears China will copy the technology and then export its own product.

"The nature of the arms transfer relationship will increasingly be characterized by competition rather than cooperation," said Paul Holtom, who heads SIPRI's arms transfer program.

China's position has been further strengthened because its need for Russian crude oil has declined over the past five years, according to SIPRI.

"China's largest oil supplier is Saudi Arabia, followed by Angola, Iran and Oman," SIPRI said.

"In the gas sector, Russia's negotiating position has been seriously weakened by China's success in finding other partners, especially in Central Asia."

US-should-tone-down-verbal-assaults-Pakistans-Zardari

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari called for "serious dialogue" with the United States on Sunday, amid a fierce dispute over US claims that his intelligence agency has links to Islamist militants.

"Democracy always favors dialogue over confrontation," Zardari wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that decried the recent "verbal assaults" of some US officials against Pakistan.

"It is time for the rhetoric to cool and for serious dialogue between allies to resume."

Last week, the top US military officer Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen accused Pakistan of exporting violence to Afghanistan through proxies and charged that the Haqqani network, an Al-Qaeda-linked group, was a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence.

Expressing regret over the growing tensions between the United States and Pakistan, which have struggled to overcome sharp differences to forge an alliance in the years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Zardari said it was the militants who had gained the most from the spat.

Iran equips marine forces with cruise missile

Iran has equipped its naval forces with a short range "cruise missile," able to hit targets in costal areas and warships within "200 kilometres (125 miles), the country's defence minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

"Today we are witnessing the equipping of the Guards navy and army navy with ample numbers of the Qader cruise missile," General Ahmad Vahidi said, quoted by his ministry's website referring to the elite Revolutionary Guards who are tasked with defending Iranian waters in the Gulf.

"It has 200 km range and has ability to be launched quickly against warships and costal targets. It flies in low altitude, has high destructive power, (and is) lightweight with high precision," he added.

He added that it could be fired from the coast or from vessels of different classes, increasing considerable the operational ability of the forces.