Hu Jintao in Washington: Clinton urges 'real action'

Hillary Clinton called on China to join other nations in confronting global threats

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said US-China relations have reached a critical point and the two must work together more effectively.

Mrs Clinton said a summit next week between the Chinese and US leaders must yield "real action, on real issues".
"It is up to both nations to translate the

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said US-China relations have reached a critical point and the two must work together more effectively.

Mrs Clinton said a summit next week between the Chinese and US leaders must yield "real action, on real issues".
"It is up to both nations to translate the high-level pledges of summits and state visits into action" on trade and other issues, she said in Washington.
Hu Jintao is to meet President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday.
"America and China have arrived at a critical juncture, a time when the choices we make - big and small - will shape the trajectory of this relationship," she said.
'Confront threats' Mrs Clinton urged China to allow its currency to appreciate faster, reflecting concerns in the US that the undervalued yuan gives Chinese exports an unfair advantage in world markets.

“Start Quote

Global recession, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, piracy on the high seas - these are threats that affect us all, including China”

End Quote Hillary Clinton US Secretary of State

She also said the US rejected the notions that China's growth is a threat to the US and that the US aims to contain the country's rise and constrain its growth.

Her remarks in Washington came the same week that US Defence Secretary Robert Gates made a historic visit to Beijing, while the Chinese military on Tuesday announced it had tested a new stealth fighter plane.
Mr Hu's visit to the US is being hailed by some US analysts as the most important state visit in three decades.
But the relationship between the two countries has been fraught with tension recently over US arms sales to Taiwan, a visit to the White House by the Dalai Lama and human rights issues.
"Global recession, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, piracy on the high seas - these are threats that affect us all, including China. And China should join us in confronting them," Mrs Clinton said.
In Washington, Mr Hu is expected to meet US congressional leaders of both parties and visit a Chinese-owned vehicle parts factory.
He and Mr Obama are expected to drop by a meeting between US and Chinese business executives.

Global piracy costs billions, says study

Piracy is particularly prevalent off the Somali coast

Maritime piracy costs the global economy between $7bn (£4.4bn) and $12bn (£7.6bn) a year, a study says.

The report, compiled by US think-tank One Earth Future, calculated the amount from the costs of ransom, security equipment and the impact on trade.
The majority of costs came from piracy off Somalia, it says.
Although the costs are said to be difficult to assess, one researcher estimated they had increased roughly five-fold since 2005.
Despite an international effort to patrol waters, the number of reported incidents of piracy has risen over recent years, and the areas in which they operate has grown.
'Treating the symptoms' The study, launched at the offices of UK think-tank Chatham House, said there had been some 1,600 acts of piracy, causing the death of over 54 people, since 2006.

“Start Quote

What is even more concerning is that all these are simply treating the symptoms - almost nothing is being done to treat the root cause”

End Quote Anna Bowden One Earth Future Foundation

Looking at the problem in three regions - the Horn of Africa, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Straits - the report suggests that the biggest costs arise from re-routing ships to avoid risky areas, which is estimated at between $2.4bn and $3bn.

Meanwhile, about $2bn is spent on naval operations off the coast of Somalia each year.
"Some of these costs are increasing astronomically," said researcher Anna Bowden from the Colorado-based One Earth Future Foundation, which conducted research for the study.
"What is even more concerning is that all these are simply treating the symptoms. Almost nothing is being done to treat the root cause."
At the start of this year, around 500 seafarers from more than 18 countries were being held hostage by pirates around the world.
Somalia has been ravaged by internal conflict for two decades, and pirates have flourished amid the lawlessness.

Uncertainty in Nepal as UN mission ends

In cantons around Nepal, there are nearly 20,000 Maoist fighters who have not been integrated into the security forces

The United Nations mission established to monitor Nepal's peace process, Unmin, is scheduled to leave the country on Saturday amid uncertainty about its future.

The mission is closing after Nepal's warring political parties agreed not to extend its mandate last September.
But there is still no agreement over how they will take over its monitoring duties.
The departing UN chief, Karin Landgren, is hoping for an 11th-hour deal so that there will be a smooth handover.

The departing UN chief in Nepal, Karin Landgren, is hoping for a last-minute deal

"My fear is that if there isn't consensus by Saturday, there'll be a lot of nervousness among the population," she says.
"But I think the parties feel the pressure and I am confident that they will come to some arrangement before our deadline on 15 January."
Established in 2007, Unmin monitored the arms and personnel of the Maoist army and the Nepalese Army under a peace deal that brought 10 years of conflict between the Maoists and the state to an end.
It also helped conduct elections to a Constituent Assembly in 2008, in which the Maoists won most seats but fell short of an outright majority.
But despite these successes, Nepal is still a long way from concluding its peace process and writing a new democratic constitution.

“Start Quote

Unmin has been a psychological deterrent on both sides not to break the peace process”

End Quote Baburam Bhattarai Maoist Vice-Chairman

"I believe we could have done more given a different mandate," says Ms Landgren.

"It's been frustrating having the monitoring end of things without being able to influence the decision making."
Many of the conditions of the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement have yet to be fulfilled.
The Nepalese Army has not been restructured. More than 19,000 former Maoist fighters remain in cantons around the country, their weapons under UN supervision.
A deal to either integrate them into the security forces or rehabilitate them into civilian life has stalled because of distrust between the Maoists and an alliance of the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist).

Nepali MPs could not be persuaded to back Ram Chandra Poudel for the premiership

The peace process in Nepal has been deadlocked since the collapse of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML coalition government in June.
Since then, the country's parliament has held 16 unsuccessful votes to chose a new prime minister.
A 17th vote was cancelled this week after the only candidate standing, the Nepali Congress MP Ram Chandra Poudel, withdrew.
It is hoped that this will pave the way for a new power-sharing government that will agree on how to take over the UN's monitoring duties and move the peace process forward.
All the parties agree there is no alternative to consensus. But there remains deep division between them.
'Time is short' The Maoists want the UN to stay.
"Unmin has been a psychological deterrent on both sides not to break the peace process," says Maoist Vice-Chairman Baburam Bhattarai. "Without it there could be trouble."

More than 19,000 former Maoist fighters remain in camps around the country

The Maoists hope to persuade the other parties that an impartial, international presence is necessary before Unmin's deadline expires.
But the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML disagree.
Some in these parties feel the mission has always been too close to the Maoists, and resent its equal treatment of the former rebels and the state security forces.
In this respect they are backed by India, Nepal's large and powerful southern neighbour.
India, who is fighting a war with Maoist rebels within its own borders, has played a key role in trying to exclude the Nepali Maoists from power.
'Special relationship' It has also had a behind-the-scenes hand in advising members of the UN Security Council that keeping Unmin in Nepal would only slow down the peace process.
"India sees any foreign presence in the territory of Nepal as a possible challenge to its hegemony," says political commentator, C K Lal.
"This is because India interprets the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship as a special relationship between the two countries - and thinks that India has special rights over foreign policy in Nepal."
As Unmin waits for a last-minute deal between the political parties, there is uncertainty over how the peace process will continue.
In particular, with political attention focused on who is going to be the next prime minister, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the 28 May deadline to write a new constitution will be met.
As time runs out for a compromise deal to take over the UN's duties, Ms Landgren says she believes that the gains made during the last four years will not be reversed.
"But it's up to Nepalis to pull up their boot straps because time is very short."

Robert Gates tours China nuclear warfare headquarters

China and the US have pronounced the visit by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates a success

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has visited China's nuclear warfare headquarters, at the end of a four-day visit to try to mend relations between the two militaries.

"There was a discussion of nuclear strategy," including China's policy of not using nuclear weapons pre-emptively, Mr Gates said.
Officials from both countries praised the visit as a success.
Beijing froze military ties last year because of a US arms sales to Taiwan.
The rare view of China's nuclear and missile arsenal was given on a trip to the Second Artillery Corps of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters.
Both the US and China have long-range missiles capable of reaching each other's shores, but both have said they do not intend to use them.
Fences mended? The visit by Mr Gates to China was pronounced a success by both Beijing and Mr Gates.
"We believe exchanges with the US in all kinds of fields are beneficial. They'll add to our mutual trust and eliminate misunderstanding and miscalculations," said Guan Youfei, deputy chief of the Defence Ministry's foreign affairs office.

Chinese vessels surrounded the USNS Impeccable last year in an escalation of maritime tension

"The visit is a move to develop healthier and more stable relations between the two military establishments," he said.
Mr Gates said the commander of the nuclear headquarters, General Jing Zhiyuan, had accepted an invitation to US strategic Command headquarters in Nebraska.
"I think the discussions were very productive and set the stage for taking the military-to-military relationship to the next level," he said.
Mr Gates' visit comes ahead of a trip by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Washington next week.
China has agreed to more direct military co-operation with the US but it remains unclear how open and collegial such exchanges will be.
Mr Gates has said he wanted to convene a new round of military talks in the first half of this year to cover nuclear, missile defence, cyberwarfare and the military uses of space alongside the current focus on maritime issues.
Last year, tensions increased significantly over a series of maritime disputes, with the US supporting South East Asian concerns at China's re-stated claim to the South China Sea.

Robert Gates warns of North Korean threat

US defence secretary Robert Gates is in South Korea after talks in China and Japan

North Korea poses an increasingly potent threat to the region and the world, the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.

Speaking in Japan, he said while Pyongyang's conventional capability was degraded it was in other respects "more lethal and destabilising".
He also said there were signs of a "disconnect" between the civilian and military leaderships in China.
But he insisted the Chinese President Hu Jintao was firmly in charge.
Mr Hu is to visit Washington next week.
Mr Gates has now arrived in South Korea.

threat to the region and the world, the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.

Speaking in Japan, he said while Pyongyang's conventional capability was degraded it was in other respects "more lethal and destabilising".
He also said there were signs of a "disconnect" between the civilian and military leaderships in China.
But he insisted the Chinese President Hu Jintao was firmly in charge.
Mr Hu is to visit Washington next week.
Mr Gates has now arrived in South Korea.
"The character and priorities of the North Korean regime sadly have not changed," Mr Gates told an audience of students at Keio University in Tokyo.
"North Korea's ability to launch another conventional ground invasion is much degraded from even a decade ago, but in other respects it has grown more lethal and more destabilising."
The country's missile technology and nuclear programmes "threaten not just the peninsula, but the Pacific Rim and international stability," Mr Gates said.
'Unaware' As for China, he quashed suggestions that China's growth as a military power made it an "inevitable strategic adversary" of the US.
He said the only area of dispute between them was the issue of "freedom of navigation".
While he was in Beijing, seeking to repair military ties frozen by China over US arms sales to Taiwan, the Chinese military published photos of a test flight by its J-20 stealth jet.
Mr Gates said of China's civilian leaders that there were "pretty clear indications they were unaware of the flight test".

Five Chinese vessels surrounded the USNS Impeccable on 8 March 2009

"This is an area where over the last several years we have seen some signs of, I guess I would call it a disconnect between the military and the civilian leadership."
He added that China's government leaders had also appeared to be unaware of what he called aggressive actions taken by Chinese naval vessels against a US Navy surveillance ship in 2009, and of an anti-satellite test in recent years.
However, he said, he had no doubt that President Hu was "in command and in charge".
He also reiterated his belief in the vital importance of large numbers of US troops remaining in Japan.
Japanese public opinion and some government leaders have become more critical of the noise, crowding and occasional misbehaviour of the 49,000 US troops based in and around Okinawa.
"We do understand that it is politically a complex matter in Japan," he said during a news conference with Japan's Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.
"While issues associated with Okinawa and Futenma have tended to dominate the headlines this past year, the U.S.-Japan defence alliance is broader, deeper and indeed richer than any single issue," he said.
"North Korea's military provocations could be even more outrageous" without that military presence, he argued, and China "might behave more assertively towards its neighbours", he said.
"It is precisely because we have questions about China's military - just as they might have similar questions about the United States - that I believe a healthy dialogue is needed," he said.
Mr Gates's trip has focused on repairing military ties with China and easing tensions between the Koreas.

"Initiating a war with Iran will only bring disaster upon Israel."

Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi has reportedly suggested that a military action against Iran's nuclear facilities would have irreparable consequences for Tel Aviv. 

"A military strike is not the right way to foil it [Iran's nuclear program]," Ashkenazi said. "Initiating a war will only bring disaster upon Israel."

According to a Wednesday article in the prominent Israeli daily Ha'aretz, there are two fronts within the Tel Aviv regime over launching an offensive against Iran.

The first warmonger group includes hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak; and the second group, who is worried about the aftermath of a strike, includes Ashkenazi himself, Head of Israel's Mossad spy agency Meir Dagan, Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin and Head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence body Yuval Diskin.

Last spring, Ashkenazi was assured by Netanyahu that his views would be heard over a military confrontation, according to the article.

However, the Israeli defense minister appointed Major General Yoav Galant as Ashkenazi's successor. Ashkenazi will retire next month.

Meanwhile, Tamir Pardo, who favors a military action against Iran, was appointed as the new chief of Israeli spy agency, replacing Dagan.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu called for "a credible military option against Iran," insisting that the military effort should be taken by the 'international community' and led by the United States.

The fresh rhetoric comes a week after Tehran invited envoys representing "geographical and political groups" in the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit Iran's nuclear sites.

In addition to Iran's recent invitation, the IAEA continues to conduct its regular inspections and camera surveillance of Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials and lawmakers have hailed the invitation as a major step toward proving Iran's policy of "nuclear transparency" to the international community.

As an IAEA member state and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has repeatedly refuted repeated Western accusations that it has a hidden military agenda

IAF Sukhoi Fleet to be Equipped with Homemade Nirbhay Missiles

India Defence Online, New Delhi — India’s ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile is slated to be incorporated in the Suhkoi Su-30MKI Flanker strike aircraft, increasing the nuclear weapon capability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) beyond that of free-fall weapons only. The ‘Nirbhay’ will be the third indigenous weapon to equip the Su-30MKI besides the ‘Brahmos’ supersonic cruise missile and the ‘Astra’ medium-range air-to-air missile.

The induction of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile to the Suu-MKI Flanker aircraft will give the decisive edge the IAF needs in terms of long-range and strategic strike capability.

According to sources, the range of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile is roughly 800 to 1,000 kilometres. Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory, part of state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization’s (DRDO) is currently pursuing the ‘Nirbhay’ project. Sources added that a design model of the ‘Nirbhay’ is expected to be unveiled at Aero-India 2011.

Sources also added that the approximate size of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile is about 19 feet, which implies that only a couple of these missiles can be accommodated in the Su-MKI aircraft. It has been suggested that the aircraft could carry one weapon on a pylon in the tunnel between the two engine bays, similar to the measure taken for the ‘Brahmos’ missile. Two ‘Nirbhay’ missiles can be accommodated if one could fit under each of the inboard wing-station.

The details of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile have been kept under wraps by India. The subsonic Nirbhay weighs 1,000 kg with a 1,000 km range and a speed of 0.7 mach. The requirement for ‘Nirbhay’ was anticipated by India’s three armed forces. The ‘Nirbhay’ is to have multiple platforms and can be launched from ground, sea and air.

It has been disclosed that the overall design and aerodynamic study work and the design of the propulsion system has been finished. DRDO’s Pune-based Research and Development Establishment (Engineering) is developing the transporter erector launch vehicle for the ground-launched version of the ‘Nirbhay’ missile.

ASL, the lab which is designing the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile indicated that it will be superior to the ‘Babur’ missile which belongs to Pakistan. Pakistan’s ‘Babur’ msissile is the first subsonic, low-level terrain-mapping missile and was developed originally with a 500 kilometres range and later upgraded to 700 kilometres.

Iran eyes new destroyers

Iranian Navy's Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Bigham says the navy aims to build new destroyers with state-of-the-art design and defense systems.

“The assembly line for the production of missile-launching frigates with advanced systems and modern features have been set up,” IRNA quoted Rear Admiral Bigham as saying on Friday.

He hailed the country's first domestically-build and developed guided missile destroyer Jamaran and said, “The military capabilities … need to meet our defense requirements to protect the Islamic Republic's interests against aerial, surface and sub-surface threats.”

Last February, the Iranian Navy launched the Jamaran destroyer with a displacement of around 1,420 tons, fitted with modern radars and other electronic warfare capabilities.

Jamaran, a multi-mission destroyer, can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of surface-to-air missiles.

It has a top speed of up to 30 knots and has a helipad. It also features highly advanced anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-subsurface systems. The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons.

Rear Admiral Bigham also said that the Naval Forces of the Islamic Republic Army is fully capable of defending the country as they continue to upgrade the navy's defense systems.

He underscored the navy's plans for longer missions in international waters and pointed out that more durable surface and sub-surface fleet were required to achieve the goal.

India to reduce troops in Kashmir

NEW DELHI — India plans to reduce its security forces by a quarter in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, an official said Friday.

The unexpected announcement on Kashmir by Home Secretary G.K. Pillai is intended to rebuild fractured public goodwill after a violent uprising by young people in the Muslim-majority region last year.

New Delhi faced one of the biggest challenges to its grip on the divided and disputed territory last summer when more than 100 people were shot dead by security forces during violent demonstrations.

Speaking at a university seminar on Kashmir in the Indian capital, Pillai said that the government was looking at cutting troops by "25 percent in 12 months from populated areas."

"If we can manage with local police, that would be the most ideal situation, and this is one of the confidence-building measures -- that people don't get harassed by the over-presence of security forces," Pillai said.

"If peace comes, if violence is not there, people are comfortable, we can gradually reduce our presence and make sure that all forces are there only at the border for preventing infiltration."

The presence of hundreds of thousands of paramilitary and army troops in Kashmir -- India does not disclose official troop figures -- is seen by local politicians and observers as fuelling anger against rule from New Delhi.

The drawdown signals that New Delhi's focus has shifted from fighting an Islamist insurgency in Kashmir that raged for 20 years and claimed more than 47,000 lives, according to an official count.

Deaths due to the violence are at their lowest level in more than a decade.

Hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani dismissed the government's plan and demanded the full withdrawal of Indian forces from the region.

"I will be only satisfied when all the Indian forces stationed in Kashmir are withdrawn," Geelani told AFP.

The intensity of the insurgency, funded by Islamist militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan, has declined since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004 to resolve all pending disputes including Kashmir.

The region is split between the two countries along a UN-monitored line of control and has been the trigger for two of the three wars fought between the neighbours since independence in 1947.

The majority of militant groups active in the Indian-administered part of the region favour its secession from India to neighbouring Pakistan.

US likely to remove sanctions from Indian defence entities

WASHINGTON: The US, which imposed curbs on trade with defence entities like ISRO and DRDO following India's nuclear tests in 1998, has set in motion regulatory changes to lift the ban soon, thus fulfilling a commitment made by President Barack Obama.

A formal notification to lift the ban by the US Department of Commerce for this purpose is in advanced stage, top US officials said.

"These regulatory changes will begin the transformation of the bilateral export control policies to realise the full potential of the strategic partnership between our two countries," Eric Hirschhorn, Under Secretary for Industry and Security, US Department of Commerce, told PTI.

But he did not give any time line for the removal of restrictions, which is eagerly awaited in India.

However, official sources said a formal notification in this regard could well be issued before the scheduled India visit of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke from February 6-11.

US imposed curbs on trade with these defence entities in the wake nuclear tests carried out by India in 1998.

"The Department of Commerce is working quickly to publish a regulation that will remove Indian space and defence-related entities from the Entity List and enact other India-specific export control changes," a senior US official said.

They clarified these notifications would be India specific.

"We have a separate track on these issues in partnership with India," another Administration official said.

"As you'll recall, in New Delhi, the President together with the Prime Minister announced a resolution of unilateral export control issues and the President announced his support for India in multilateral fora. That has not changed and we continue to move forward on those steps," the official said.

Obama, during his India visit, had assured India that he would remove these companies from the entities list.

"Commensurate with India's nonproliferation record and commitment to abide by multilateral export control standards, the US will remove all civil space and defence-related entities from the Department of Commerce "Entity List."

"Inclusion on this list generally triggers an export license requirement when exported," said a fact sheet issued by the White House during the Obama visit.