Sea Trials Begin for Chinese Aircraft Carrier

TAIPEI - China's state-run Xinhua News Agency announced Aug. 10 the beginning of sea trials for China's first aircraft carrier, the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag.

China's first aircraft carrier, the former Soviet carrier Varyag which China bought from Ukraine in 1998, undergoes refitting at the port of Dalian on July 4. The aircraft carrier started its first sea trial Aug. 10, the state news agency Xinhua said (AFP)

"China's refitted aircraft carrier left its shipyard at Dalian Port in northeast Liaoning Province on Wednesday morning to start its first sea trial," said the Xinhua report. "Military sources said that the first sea trial was in line with schedule of the carrier's refitting project and would not take a long time. After returning from the sea trial, the aircraft carrier will continue refit and test work."

Photos of the Varyag indicate it has been outfitted with an active phased array radar (similar to the U.S. Aegis System), a Type 381 Sea Eagle Radar, a 30mm Type-1030 close-in weapon system, and an FL-3000 Flying Leopard air defense missile system.
The large number of personnel on board recently and the testing of the engines, with smoke belching from the funnel, indicate that the propulsion systems have been installed and the ship is reaching seaworthiness, said Gary Li, an intelligence analyst for U.K.-based Exclusive Analysis.
Debate and mystery still surround the former Kuznetsov-class carrier. Procured by a Hong Kong travel agency in 1998 for $20 million, purportedly to serve as a casino in Macau, the Varyag has been the focus of debate among China watchers ever since it bypassed Macau for the Dalian Shipyard in northeast China in 2002.
The Chinese-language media are still arguing over whether the vessel will be christened the Shi Lang, after the Ming-Qing Dynasty naval admiral who conquered Taiwan in 1681, or Liu Huaqing, the father of China's modern Navy.
What is certain is that it will not be the last Chinese aircraft carrier. There are indicators, though anecdotal, that China is preparing to build up to three carriers at the Jiangnan Shipyard on Changxing Island in Shanghai.
Job-wanted advertisements in local newspapers have dropped hints the work is for a carrier program, Li said.
Li said one recent job advertisement for a heavy-lift vehicle contract said it sought "drivers to work on carrier project." There have also been reports by residents that "blonde foreigners," possibly Ukrainian engineers, have been seen living in a hotel near the shipyard.
Observers must be careful not "to fall into the trap of using every bit of gossip from some dockside fruit seller as fact," he said. China's carrier program has become a "heavy rumor mill." With 11 aircraft carriers at its disposal, the U.S. has little to fear from China's carrier program. Even if China had several aircraft carriers, "I don't think it will reshape the strategic balance much in favor of China," said Zhuang Jianzhong, vice director of the Center for National Strategy Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
However, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam face a different scenario. China has threatened to invade Taiwan if it continues to resist unification. An aircraft carrier off Taiwan's eastern coast would close off access by the U.S. military coming to the island's aid during a war.
Vietnam and the Philippines have been facing problems with an aggressive Chinese Navy in the South China Sea, which China claims as a "core interest." On Aug. 3, the People's Daily, China's main Communist Party newspaper, warned the Philippines against building a shelter on the disputed Nansha Island in the Spratly Islands, calling it "a severe strategic error." As part of Vietnam's insurance against continued Chinese threats, the Navy is procuring Russian arms, including six Kilo-class attack submarines, two Gepard-class missile frigates and 20 more Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft armed with anti-ship missiles. Vietnam's Navy has five aging Russian-built Petya-class frigates, two North Korean-built Yugo-class midget submarines, along with several missile corvettes. Any conflict between the navies of China and the Philippines or Vietnam would be an "unequal contest," said Carl Thayer, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
"China's South Sea Fleet should be quite capable in fending off any threats that Vietnam could offer. The Philippines Navy in its present state would be destroyed at a distance due to lack of sensors, appropriate strike weapons and air cover," Thayer said.
At present, the Vietnamese could land some punches, he said.
"Vietnam might be able to pull off a few surprises through deception with hit-and-run raids by guidedmissile fast-attack craft or by luring Chinese ships into range of its Bastion land-based anti-ship missiles," he said.
Vietnam possesses some "potent" anti-ship missiles but lacks the experience to stand up to China's South Sea Fleet.
Such a conflict would most likely occur with sufficient warning time for the Philippines and Vietnam to withdraw their naval forces and not engage in a head-to-head naval confrontation, Thayer said.
"The United States has promised to assist the Philippines with maritime domain awareness, and it is not inconceivable that the U.S. might forewarn Vietnam if China began to build up and deploy a naval force on Hainan Island," he said.
Chinese plans to field one or more aircraft carriers would change the equation. China's South Sea Fleet has already been improving 3-D combat at sea - surface, subsurface and air - with numerous exercises over the past two years. China could also bring in elements from the East and North Sea fleets to assist in any sea battle in the South China Sea.

CHRONOLOGY

* 1992: Soviet Union stops construction of the Varyag, a former Kuznetsov-class carrier, at 60 percent complete.Ownership is later transferred to Ukraine.
* April 1998: Ukraine puts the Varyag up for auction. The Chong Lot Travel Agency procures the ship for $20 million for use as a "casino" in Macau.
* 2001: Ukraine sells a prototype of the Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-borne fighter jet to Shenyang Aircraft Corp.
* March 2002: Vessel arrives in Dalian Shipyard, China.
* June 2005: Refurbishment begins.
* September 2008: The PLA Daily newspaper announces that 50 pilots were inducted at the Dalian Naval Academy to undergo training on ship-borne aircraft flight.
* 2009: A mock-up of the Varyag is constructed at the Wuhan Naval Research Facility near Huangjie Lake, Wuhan, China.
* 2010: Photos surface of the J-15 Flying Shark, which is identical to the Su-33.
* 2011: April: A People's Daily website reports the Varyag has entered its last stage, with the hull being painted light gray-blue, standard for all ships in the Chinese Navy.
* June 7: Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, admits in a newspaper interview with the Chinese-language Hong Kong Commercial Daily that China has an aircraft carrier program.
* July 27: The Chinese Defense Ministry officially confirms the Varyag is being refitted as a "scientific research, experiment and training" vessel.
* July 29: Gen. Luo Yuan, a senior researcher with the Academy of Military Sciences, tells the Beijing News that China would need a minimum of three aircraft carriers.


Vietnam to Get Sub Fleet in 6 Years: State Media

HANOI - Vietnam will have a submarine fleet within six years, the defense minister reportedly confirmed Aug. 4, in what analysts say is intended as a deterrent to China's increasing assertiveness at sea.

"In the coming five to six years, we will have a submarine brigade with six Kilo 636-Class subs," Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh was quoted as saying by the state-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Russian media reported in December 2009 that Vietnam had agreed to buy half a dozen diesel-electric submarines for about $2 billion.

Thanh said the fleet was "definitely not meant as a menace to regional nations," according to the report.

"Buying submarines, missiles, fighter jets and other equipment is for self-defense," he was quoted as saying.

Ian Storey, a regional security analyst at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore, said the submarine deal has been driven by events in the South China Sea, where China and Vietnam have a longstanding territorial spat over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

Tensions rose after Vietnam in May accused Chinese marine surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside the country's exclusive economic zone.

"These purchases are designed to deter the Chinese from encroaching on Vietnamese sovereignty," Storey told AFP.

He said the country already operates two midget submarines bought years ago from North Korea.

In the newspaper report, Thanh did not specify how Vietnam was paying for its naval upgrade.

"It depends on our economic ability. Vietnam has yet to produce modern weapons and military equipment, which are costly to import," he said.

Analysts say the country's economy is in turmoil with galloping inflation, large trade and budget deficits, inefficient state spending, and other woes.

Much of Vietnam's military hardware is antiquated but this week it received the first of three new coastal patrol planes for the marine police, announced the manufacturer, Madrid-based Airbus Military.

Russian media reported last year that Vietnam ordered 12 Sukhoi Su-30MK2 warplanes in a deal worth about $1 billion.

Other nations in the region have accused China in recent months of becoming more aggressive in enforcing its claims to parts of the South China Sea.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to all or parts of the waters, which are potentially rich in oil and gas deposits and straddle vital commercial shipping lanes.

Huge Cyber Spying Effort Revealed, China Suspected

WASHINGTON - The United States, United Nations, defense contractors and the International Olympic Committee were targets of a massive global cyber spying campaign, a computer security firm said on Aug. 3, with China seen as the likely culprit.

McAfee vice president for threat research Dmitri Alperovitch described it as a "five-year targeted operation by one specific actor" but declined to identify the country responsible.

California-based McAfee said in a report it had identified 72 victims in 14 countries of a sophisticated hacking effort dubbed "Operation Shady RAT," which it traced back to at least 2006.

The "compromised parties" included the governments of Canada, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Vietnam, McAfee said, as well as a U.S. Department of Energy research laboratory and around a dozen U.S. defense contractors.

Others included computer networks of the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the International Olympic Committee, Asian and Western national Olympic committees and the Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency.

In a conference call with reporters, Alperovitch, the lead author of the report, said the intrusions into the systems of defense contractors targeted "sensitive military technologies."

He said McAfee had notified law enforcement about the cyber espionage campaign, briefed the White House and members of the U.S. Congress and was working with some of the targeted companies on remediation efforts.

"We believe based on the targeting and the scale and the impact of these operations, and the fact that they didn't just have an economic gain in mind but also political and military, that that this is clearly a nation-state but we're not pointing the finger at anyone," Alperovitch said.

James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the evidence may not be "conclusive in a legal sense," but suspicion points towards China.

"You can think of at least three other large programs attributed to China that look very similar," Lewis told AFP. "It's a pattern of activity that we've seen before."

Google said in June that a cyber spying campaign originating in China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior U.S. officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.

In January of last year, Google announced it was halting censorship of its Internet search engine in China after coming under attack along with 20 other companies from hackers based there.

In February, McAfee said in another report that hackers in China have penetrated computer networks of global oil companies, stealing financial documents on bidding plans and other confidential information.

McAfee said it had discovered the "Shady RAT" series of cyber attacks by gaining access to a command and control server in a Western country used by the intruders and examining its logs.

"After painstaking analysis of the logs, even we were surprised by the enormous diversity of the victim organizations and were taken aback by the audacity of the perpetrators," McAfee said.

McAfee said attacks on Asian and Western national Olympic committees, the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency occurred in the lead-up and immediate follow-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It described this as "particularly intriguing and potentially pointed a finger at a state actor behind the intrusions, because there is likely no commercial benefit to be earned from such hacks."

Other targets included a private Western organization focused on promoting democracy, two U.S. national security think tanks, South Korean steel and construction firms, a Danish satellite communications company, a Singapore electronics company, a Taiwanese electronics firm, Vietnam's government-owned technology company and U.S. state and county governments, McAfee said.

It said a major U.S. news organization - identified as the Associated Press by The Washington Post - was "compromised at its New York headquarters and Hong Kong bureau for more than 21 months."

McAfee said the attacks involved sending infected emails to employees of the targeted companies. When opened, the emails implanted malware and established a backdoor communication channel to the command and control server.

Data theft appeared to be the chief objective of the attackers but Alperovitch warned the "potential exists for even more insidious activity."

"These intruders are in our systems, in the systems of all these companies, in all these government systems," he said. "The likelihood that they'll escalate the activity from just stealing data to modifying data or destroying data or destroying systems is also there."

Japan Warns of China's Growing Naval Muscle

TOKYO - Japan voiced concern Tuesday over China's growing assertiveness and widening naval reach in nearby waters and the Pacific and over what it called the "opaqueness" of Beijing's military budget.
In its annual defense report, Tokyo also pointed to threats from North Korea's series of nuclear tests and development of a new midrange ballistic missile, and at a lingering island dispute with Russia.

China has been embroiled in separate spats over islands - with Japan as well as with several Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam and the Philippines - which have flared up again over the past year.
The report, approved by Prime Minister Naoto Kan's cabinet, used a Japanese word that can be translated as "overbearing" or "assertive" for China's stance in the disputes with its neighbors, including Japan.
The report, released by the defense ministry, said that in this context, China's "future direction can be a source of concern".
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa later told reporters that the intended English translation was "assertive", Jiji Press reported.
"We used the expression, thinking the entire international community probably perceives it that way," he said. "This is one way of expressing our hope that China will address these issues through friendly relations."
The paper also said China's defense spending was not transparent, saying that the defense budget publicly announced by China "is widely seen as only part of what Beijing actually spends for military purposes."
"Opaqueness in its defense policies and military movements are concerns for the region, including Japan, and for the international community, and we need to carefully analyze them," it said.
The paper said China is expected to expand its routine activities in the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
"Considering the recent modernization of China's maritime and air forces, the areas affected by the capabilities will likely expand beyond its nearby waters," the defense paper said.
Japan's defense outlook has moved away from a perceived Cold War threat of a Soviet invasion, while Japan has boosted ground, air and naval forces on the far-southern Nansei islands near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The paper for the first time also mentioned "risks to the stable use of the 'global commons' such as maritime, cyber and outer space as an emerging security issue in recent years."
The report also labeled North Korea's atomic bomb tests "a significant threat to Japan's security when the North is boosting capabilities of ballistic missiles that could carry weapons of mass destruction".
Japan also reiterated its claim of sovereignty over various islands that are in dispute with its neighbors China, Russia and South Korea.
A row over islands called Dokdo by Seoul and Takeshima by Tokyo flared again this week when three Japanese conservative opposition lawmakers were denied entry to South Korea as they planned to visit a nearby island.
South Korea's defense ministry launched a protest over the claim in the defense paper and urged Japan "to realize they can never expect progress in bilateral military relations without giving up a claim to Dokdo."

U.S., Vietnam Start Military Relationship

WASHINGTON - The United States and Vietnam on Aug. 1 opened their first formal military relationship since their war, another sign of growing cooperation amid high tensions between Hanoi and China.
The U.S. and Vietnamese militaries signed an agreement in Hanoi setting up cooperation in health, setting the stage for exchanges and research collaboration in military medicine, a U.S. Navy statement said.

The former war foes have been steadily building ties and last month held a joint naval drill. But Aug. 1's agreement marks the first formal military cooperation since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1995, the navy said.
Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson Jr., the Navy's surgeon general, said that the agreement was not about politics and that the United States hoped for more collaboration on health issues around the region.
"Medicine and medical research are universal languages that all countries and cultures understand. Diseases affect us all in the same way," Robinson said in the statement.
"By working together in areas such as infectious disease research, we not only help each other, we help the world meet these global health challenges," he said.
Despite memories of war, Vietnam has been eager for broader ties with the United States amid a flare-up in its historically tense relationship with China.
Both Vietnam and the Philippines have accused China in recent months of provocations in the South China Sea, where Beijing has a number of territorial disputes.
The United States has stood behind the Southeast Asian nations, repeatedly urging freedom of navigation. However, the United States described last week's exercises off Vietnam's central coast as non-combat, saying they focused on areas such as navigation and maintenance.
The United States is expanding military cooperation despite concern over Vietnam's human rights record. The United States last week demanded the release of Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest and democracy advocate who was re-arrested despite concerns over his health.
A number of U.S. lawmakers have urged President Barack Obama's administration to make better relations with Vietnam contingent on improvements in human rights.

Mullen Flies to China as U.S. Plans Naval Exercise

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military officer departs for China July 8 in a trip designed to bolster a fledgling security dialogue with Beijing, even as a U.S. naval exercise in the South China Sea threatens to upstage his visit.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of staff, was to depart July 8 for the four-day tour that will include talks with senior officers and a visit to military units, officials said.

Mullen - who in May hosted his Chinese counterpart, People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde - "looks forward to continuing the engagement and dialogue" with Chen in Beijing, the Pentagon said in a statement.
But the admiral's trip coincides with a joint naval exercise set for July 9 with the U.S., Japanese and Australian navies in the South China Sea, where China has asserted territorial claims.
U.S. and Japanese officials said the exercise will include the Japanese destroyer Shimakaze, an American destroyer - the Preble - and a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat.
The ships will carry out communications training and other drills off Brunei, officials said.
The U.S. Navy played down the exercise, with a spokeswoman calling it a small-scale, "low-level" activity on the sidelines of an international defense exhibition in Brunei.
Lt. Commander Tamara Lawrence told AFP it was a "passing exercise," which typically includes flag semaphore drills, navigation and other exercises focused on "basic seamanship."
China has objected to previous U.S. naval drills in the South China Sea, and tensions in the strategic and resource-rich area have mounted in recent weeks.
The Philippines and Vietnam have expressed concern over what they call China's increasingly assertive stance in the area.
Mullen's visit also comes after the United States and the Philippines carried out joint naval exercises, which Manila and Washington insisted were aimed at deepening military ties and not related to worries over China.
China has insisted that it wants a peaceful resolution of territorial disagreements, but has warned Washington against involvement in the intensifying disputes in the region.
The trip to China is the first by a U.S. chairman of the joint chiefs since 2007, officials said.
Mullen "has a wide range of meetings with senior military officials scheduled, including visits to PLA military units," the Pentagon said.
The admiral was also due to address students at Renmin University in Beijing, it said.
As tensions in the South China Sea have mounted, the pace of China-U.S. military exchanges have also picked up, with the former U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates meeting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Singapore in early June, following a January visit by Gates to Beijing.
Gates warned last month that clashes could erupt in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle their disputes peacefully.

U.S., Japan, Australia Plan South China Sea Drill

TOKYO - The U.S., Japanese and Australian navies on July 9 will hold a joint drill in the South China Sea - most of which China claims as its maritime territory - Japan's defense ministry said.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force will send destroyer Shimakaze to join a U.S. Navy destroyer and a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat for communications training and other drills off Brunei, the defense ministry said July 8.

It will be their first joint military exercise in the South China Sea, most of which an increasingly assertive China claims as its maritime territory, but where several Southeast Asian nations have competing claims.
"The exercise is aimed at enhancing tactical skills of the Maritime Self-Defence Force and strengthening relations with the participating navies," the ministry said in a statement.
Tensions in the strategic and resource-rich South China Sea have escalated in recent weeks, with the Philippines and Vietnam voicing alarm at what they say are increasingly forceful Chinese actions there.
They include accusations of Chinese forces opening fire on Filipino fishermen, shadowing an oil exploration vessel employed by a Philippine firm, and putting up structures in areas claimed by the Philippines.
Vietnam voiced anger after a Chinese vessel in May cut the exploration cables of a Vietnamese survey ship.
The South China Sea includes the Spratlys, a chain of islands believed to sit on vast mineral resources.

Breaking News From The Department of Homeland Security U.S., China Holding Talks on Rising Sea Tensions

HONOLULU, Hawaii - The United States and China were holding first-of-a-kind talks June 25 on rising tensions in the South China Sea, with Beijing angry over Washington's support of Southeast Asian countries.
Senior officials of the Pacific powers were meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, days after the United States rallied behind the Philippines and Vietnam which have been alarmed at what they see as Beijing's growing assertiveness at sea.

Kurt Campbell, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said ahead of the talks that he would make clear to China the "strong principles" of the United States in defense of freedom of navigation.
"We want recent tensions to subside and cooler heads to prevail," Campbell told reporters in Washington on June 24.
Campbell reiterated that the United States takes no stance on China's territorial disputes with its neighbors - a point of contention for some U.S. lawmakers who have been pressing for a more proactive role.
"The United States has no intention to fan the flames in the South China Sea and we have a very strong interest in the maintenance of peace and stability," Campbell said.
But China's top official at the Hawaii talks, vice foreign minister Cui Tiankai, warned that U.S. support of its partners in Southeast Asia "can only make things more complicated."
"I believe some countries now are playing with fire. And I hope the U.S. won't be burned by this fire," Cui said, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.
Cui said that the United States should limit itself to urging "more restraint and responsible behavior from those countries that have been frequently taking provocative actions."
While the United States and China often talk, the session on June 25 is the first to focus specifically on the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue was set up during the top-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington in May.
Campbell said that the United States would also talk to China about its interactions with North Korea and Myanmar, two of the dynamic region's most isolated countries which both count on Beijing as their main source of support.
But the talks are expected to focus on the South China Sea, strategic and potentially oil-rich waters where Beijing has sometimes overlapping disputes with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Vietnam recently held live-fire military exercises after accusing Chinese ships of ramming one oil survey ship and cutting the exploration cables of another.
The Philippines ordered its navy into the South China Sea - part of which it calls the West Philippine Sea - after accusing China of firing on Filipino fishermen and installing posts and a buoy in contested waters.
The United States plans joint exercises with the Philippines and a naval exchange with Vietnam in coming weeks, although U.S. officials have characterized the activities as routine.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on June 23 pledged to assist the Philippines in modernizing its navy, whose flagship is an aging vessel used by the United States in World War II.
"While we are a small country, we are prepared to do what is necessary to stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said June 23 with Clinton at his side.
The United States a week earlier held talks with Vietnam, in which the former war foes issued a joint call for a peaceful resolution to disputes in the South China Sea.
President Barack Obama's administration has focused on building ties with Southeast Asia, accusing the previous team of George W. Bush of neglecting the fast-growing and often U.S.-friendly region due to preoccupation with wars.

U.S. to Boost Philippine Intelligence, Manila Says

MANILA - Washington has vowed to boost the Philippines' intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea, where tensions with China are rising over conflicting territorial claims, Manila said June 25.
It comes after the United States, which is increasingly concerned about the situation in the South China Sea, said on June 23 it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of its close but impoverished ally.

U.S. National Director for Intelligence James Clapper made the commitment in a meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario in Washington.
Del Rosario is in the U.S. seeking help for the Philippines' poorly equipped military.
"The U.S. official pledged to enhance the NDI's intelligence sharing with the Philippines to heighten the latter's maritime situational awareness and surveillance in the West Philippine Sea," a Philippine Foreign Department statement said.
Clapper was quoted as saying that "we'll do whatever we can to help" as he expressed concern over recent events in the South China Sea.
The "West Philippine Sea" is the term that the Philippine government now uses for the South China Sea to further stress its claim to part of the area.
Del Rosario was quoted as saying he was "exploring an option" which would allow the Philippines to acquire newer military equipment at a lower cost.
However he did not say what this option was.
After their meeting on June 23, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told del Rosario that her government would speed up their military assistance to boost the Philippines' capabilities.
"We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines," she told a joint news conference.
The Philippines had sought to modernize its military following a series of incidents with China in the South China Sea, particularly in the Spratlys, a chain of islets believed to sit on vast mineral resources.
However a spokeswoman for Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the renewed ties between the United States and the Philippines should not agitate China.
"We renewed the commitment of both countries for a peaceful environment and reiterated our desire for a multilateral approach to resolving issues," spokeswoman Abigail Valte said in Manila.
"It is just an affirmation of our commitment for peace and stability in the region."
Aside from China and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim all or part of the South China Sea which includes the Spratlys.

U.S., Vietnam Urge Peace in South China Sea

WASHINGTON - The United States and Vietnam on June 17 jointly called for freedom of navigation and rejected the use of force in the South China Sea, amid simmering tensions between Beijing and its neighbors.
After talks in Washington, the two former war foes said that "the maintenance of peace, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is in the common interests of the international community."

"All territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved through a collaborative, diplomatic process without coercion or the use of force," the two countries said in a joint statement.
Disputes have flared in recent weeks in the South China Sea, with Vietnam holding live-fire military exercises after accusing Chinese ships of ramming an oil survey ship and cutting the exploration cables of another one.
China staged its own three days of military exercises in the South China Sea, which state media said was aimed at boosting the country's offshore maritime patrol force.
"The U.S. side reiterated that troubling incidents in recent months do not foster peace and stability within the region," the statement said.
It said that the incidents "raise concerns about maritime security, especially with regard to freedom of navigation, unimpeded economic development and commerce under lawful conditions, and respect for international law."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in remarks in July 2010 on a visit to Vietnam that were closely watched around Asia, said that the United States had a vital national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
China and Vietnam each claim the strategic Paracel Islands and Spratly archipelago.
China has myriad disputes in the potentially resource-rich sea with countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. The Philippines said June 17 that it was sending its aging naval flagship into the disputed waters.
Amid the tensions, China said June 14 that it would not resort to the use of force in the South China Sea and urged other countries to "do more for peace and stability in the region."

Philippines Sends Ship To Disputed Waters

MANILA - The Philippines said June 17 it would send its aging navy flagship into disputed South China Sea waters amid rising tensions with Beijing over their competing claims.
However defense department spokesman Eduardo Batac insisted the deployment was a routine assignment and had nothing to do with an announcement by China on June 16 that one of its maritime patrol vessels would pass through the area.

"I don't think these are connected," Batac told reporters.
"The navy conducts regular offshore patrols and we should not connect the deployment of Rajah Humabon to the deployment of this maritime vessel of China."
Batac said he was unaware if the Chinese vessel had reached waters claimed by both countries.
He also did not say when the Philippine vessel would be dispatched or exactly where it would go.
The Rajah Humabon, a former U.S. Navy frigate that served during World War II, is one of the world's oldest warships. It began service in the cash-strapped Philippine Navy in 1980.
Meanwhile, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario met with envoys of ASEAN member nations on Friday, calling on them to "take a common position" on the matter.
In the meeting with ambassadors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, del Rosario said there should be "common approaches in addressing worrisome developments" in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has competing claims with China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei over potentially resource-rich areas in the South China Sea.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are also members of ASEAN along with Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.
Tensions in the long-running dispute over the area have flared in recent months amid allegations by the Philippines and Vietnam that China has become increasingly aggressive in staking its territorial claims.
The Philippines accused China this month of sending naval vessels to intimidate rival claimants around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The Philippines also accused China of installing posts and a buoy in nearby areas, opening fire on Filipino fishermen and intimidating a Philippine oil exploration ship with a patrol vessel.
China has maintained throughout the flare-up that its has sole sovereignty over the waters, but that it intends to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Nevertheless, Chinese state media reported on Friday that China had recently staged three days of military exercises in the South China Sea and plans to boost its offshore maritime patrol force.
Del Rosario said the recent incidents showed the need for "collaboration and solidarity (on)... a recurring and an exacerbating problem."

Vietnam Holds Live-Fire Drill Amid China Tensions

HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam put on a show of military strength in the tense South China Sea on Monday, risking the ire of Beijing in the face of a deepening maritime rift with its powerful neighbor.
Relations between the nations have sunk to their lowest point in years following recent sea confrontations that reignited a long-standing dispute over sovereignty of two potentially oil-rich archipelagos.

A successful first barrage of naval artillery, lasting about four hours, took place about 40 kilometers (25 miles) off Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, said a naval officer in Danang city who asked not to be named.
He declined to reveal how many ships had been mobilized, but said no missiles were fired. A similar night drill would start at 7 p.m. and last about five hours, the officer added.
Although Vietnam's foreign ministry described it as routine annual training, analysts say the drill has raised temperatures in the South China Sea, where Asian nations have conflicting claims over potentially energy-rich waters.
The exercise "is designed to send China a message that Vietnam refuses to be pushed around," said Ian Storey, a regional security analyst with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
"I think the Chinese will react very badly to this," he added.
The drills are inside the area Vietnam claims as its 200-nautical mile economic zone.
Hanoi last month accused Chinese surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside the area. On Thursday, Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in a "premeditated" attack.
Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate China's sovereignty in the disputed area.
"No one wants a war, but the possibility of some shots being fired in anger or of some ships running into other ships has increased," said Ralph Cossa, president of Hawaii-based Pacific Forum CSIS, a research institute.
Despite that possibility, Cossa said all sides will ensure that any escalation will "not get out of control." The United States said it is "troubled" by tensions triggered by the maritime dispute.
The naval drill is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Paracel Islands and almost 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the Spratlys, the archipelagos that are claimed by both nations and which straddle strategic shipping lanes.
Vietnam has said it wants to see peaceful resolution and adherence to international laws.
Beijing, too, says it is committed to peace in the South China Sea, but its more assertive maritime posture has caused concern among regional nations and beyond.
Tensions have risen this year between China and Manila, another claimant to the Spratlys, which on Monday said it would from now on refer to the South China Sea as the "West Philippine Sea".
Taiwan on the weekend reiterated its claim to the Spratlys, and said missile boats and tanks could be deployed to disputed territory. Brunei and Malaysia have also staked claims in the area.
Vietnamese bitterly recall 1,000 years of Chinese occupation and, more recently, a 1979 border war. More than 70 Vietnamese sailors were killed in 1988 when the two sides battled off the Spratlys.
About 300 people in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi held anti-China rallies on Sunday to proclaim Vietnam's maritime sovereignty for the second weekend in a row. Demonstrations are rarely allowed in Vietnam.
In interviews, protesters voiced support for the naval drill. "It shows to China and to the world that we will do everything to protect our land and our sea," said Tran Bao, 36.
Tensions have spread to the Internet, where more than 200 Vietnamese websites were attacked and some defaced with Chinese flags, an Internet security firm said on Friday.

Vietnam Plans Live-Fire Drill as China Rift Grows

HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam announced June 10 that it would hold a live-fire naval drill next week in the South China Sea as an escalating maritime dispute fuels tensions with Beijing.
Relations between China and Vietnam are at their worst in years as the two countries trade accusations over recent confrontations between their ships in potentially energy-rich contested waters.

A Vietnamese naval officer told AFP that the six hours of live-fire exercises would be held on June 13 around Hon Ong island, about 25 miles off Quang Nam province in central Vietnam.
The officer declined to give the reason for the night drill or say how many vessels would be involved.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said the exercises were part of routine annual training.
Tensions between the communist neighbors have risen sharply after Hanoi accused Chinese marine surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship in May inside its exclusive economic zone, where the drill will be.
On June 9 Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in its waters, describing it as a "premeditated" attack.
Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate its sovereignty in disputed South China Sea waters.
The two countries have long-standing disputes over the potentially oil-rich Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and surrounding sea.
The area where the live-fire exercise is planned is about 155 miles from the Paracels and about 620 miles from the Spratlys.
Carl Thayer, a veteran analyst of Vietnam and the South China Sea, said the drill would be a way for Vietnam to send a message, after China on June 9 also said it would conduct naval exercises.
Thayer said Vietnam was firing "a soft warning shot across the bow, rather than a real one."
But he added such drills were not unprecedented as Vietnam held an air-defense drill on land about two months ago.
In a sign of how seriously Hanoi views the situation, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung this week vowed to protect Vietnam's "incontestable" sovereignty of the Paracels and Spratlys.
Vietnam said it has since deployed eight boats to "escort" the ship involved in the May incident, without saying what kind of vessels. Analysts say the move raises the stakes in the dispute.
Beijing says it is committed to peace in the South China Sea, but its more assertive maritime posture has caused concern among regional nations.
Tensions have also risen this year between China and the Philippines, another claimant to the Spratlys, where Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also say they have a stake.
"Nobody wants war but when there is an escalation we will act," vice defense minister Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh told local media earlier this week.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned last weekend that clashes may erupt in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle disputes peacefully.
Hundreds of people held a peaceful anti-China protest outside Beijing's embassy in Hanoi on June 5, the largest action of its kind since 2007. Protests are rare in authoritarian Vietnam.
Tensions have also spread to the Internet.
More than 200 Vietnamese websites have been attacked and some defaced with Chinese flags, an Internet security firm said June 10. The ministries of agriculture and foreign affairs are among those targeted since the beginning of June, said Nguyen Minh Duc, director of the state-linked Bach Khoa Internetwork Security Centre.
"We don't yet know if it concerns Chinese hackers," Duc said.

PLA 20 Years Behind U.S. Military: Chinese DM

SINGAPORE - There is a 20-year gap between China and the U.S. military in equipment, weapons and systems, Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie told the 10th Shangri-La Dialogue on June 5 in Singapore.

Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie speaks on international security cooperation during the annual Asia-Pacific forum in Singapore on June 5. (Roslan Rahman / AFP)

"I would call the gap big," he said. Liang acknowledged that China's military modernization has improved, but the "main battle equipment of our services ... is mainly second-generation weapons." China does not have a large arsenal of third-generation weapons, systems or platforms. "For example, the army is still being motorized, not mechanized," he said.

Liang conceded that China's military modernization has drawn the attention and concern of the international community and there have been questions over China's capability, but China does not "seek hegemony" and has a right to defend its "core interests," which include protecting its sovereignty.
After years of ignoring the Shangri-La Dialogue, China sent an unprecedented senior-level delegation. The annual conference is sponsored by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), officially known as the IISS Asia Security Summit, and includes the attendance of defense ministers from across the globe, including U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Liang said military-to-military relations with the U.S. were improving. The U.S. just concluded meetings in May with senior Chinese defense officials in Washington for the Security and Economic Dialogue, and the Pentagon hosted a separate visit by Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff, People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Gates visited China in January for high-level talks designed to get military-to-military exchanges back online after they were severed to protest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in 2010.
There was some discussion at the summit over an incident May 26 in the South China Sea involving three Chinese vessels harassing a Vietnamese oil survey ship. Though both China and Vietnam downplayed tensions at the Shangri-La, there were obvious signs of Chinese anxiety.
A Chinese PLA officer showed up at a press conference held by Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, Vietnam's deputy minister of defense, and took notes. When a journalist asked if she was "spying on the Vietnamese" she refused to answer.
One of the prominent features of this dialogue was China's "big footprint," said Singapore-based Tim Huxley, executive director, IISS-Asia. Not only was this the first Shangri-La to include a Chinese defense minister, it was also the first time there were five Chinese speakers in three of the five closed-door special sessions, he said.
Other high-level Chinese delegates included Rear Adm. Guan Youfei, deputy chief, Foreign Affairs Office, Ministry of National Defense; Senior Col. Ou Yangwei, director, Center for Defense Mobilization Studies, National Defense University; Major Gen. Song Dan, deputy director general, General Office, Central Military Commission; Lt. Gen. Wei Fenghe, deputy chief of general staff, PLA; and Xiao Jianguo, director, Department of Ocean Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Vietnam Confirms Kilo Sub Buy at Shangri-La

SINGAPORE - Vietnam will procure six Russian-built Kilo-class attack submarines "to defend" the country. Vietnam's Defense Minister, Gen. Phung Quang Thanh, made the comment June 5 at the 10th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore 5. Analysts put the price tag for the deal at just over $3 billion.

Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. General Phung Quang Thanh speaks June 5 during the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. (Roslan Rahman / Agence France-Presse)

The announcement comes in the wake of official protests lodged by Hanoi over a May 26 incident when three Chinese vessels operated by the State Oceanic Administration harassed the Binh Minh 02, a Vietnamese oil exploration seismic survey vessel belonging to the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam). One of the Chinese vessels cut the ship's survey cable. The incident occurred within Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone.

The incident causes "considerable concern on the maintenance of peace and stability in the East Sea [South China Sea]," he said. Further, Vietnam has "exercised patience in managing the incident with peaceful means in accordance with the international laws and the principle of determinedly protecting our national sovereignty."
The incident caused outrage in Vietnam, resulting in public protests at the Chinese embassy and hacker attacks on Chinese government websites.
Thanh met with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie at a bilateral meeting during the Shangri-La to discuss issues, including the incident. The Dialogue is organized by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) and held annually each June in Singapore.
Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of Defense, also confirmed the Kilo submarine deal and added that Vietnam was also buying "Su-30 fighters and surface-to-air missiles." However, the procurements were not tied to the May 26 incident and were "part of our weapons appreciation program for enhancing our capabilities." He said Vietnam has a "legitimate need to upgrade our military capability."
Vinh emphasized that the recent incident with China was a "civilian clash" and not a military issue. Vietnamese law enforcement and maritime agencies are responsible for these types of problems, he said. "What happened, happened" and it must he handled within the guidelines of international law by peaceful means. However, Vinh stressed that Vietnam would use "all means to protect our national sovereignty."
China's military has been expanding its capabilities and influence in the South China Sea with a new submarine base on Hainan Island, and preparations are underway to begin sea trials of its first aircraft carrier.
China and Vietnam have been bumping into one another in the South China Sea since the 1970s. In 1974 China took the Paracel Islands by military force from then-South Vietnam, and Hanoi has continued to claim sovereignty over the islands. Periodic arrests of Vietnamese fishermen in the area have also caused frustration in Hanoi.
In 1988 China and Vietnam fought over the Johnson South Reef in the South China Sea. China sank two Vietnamese naval vessels and opened fired on Vietnamese troops occupying the reef. A video documentary widely aired in Vietnam, dubbed the "Spratly Islands Massacre," available on YouTube, allegedly shows a Chinese frigate gunning down around 30 Vietnamese soldiers on the reef.
The latest incident has raised concerns China is becoming aggressive in the South China Sea and risks sparking a conflict. However, a member of the Chinese delegation attending the Shangri-La Dialogue said the Chinese vessels involved in the May 26 incident might be acting unilaterally without the consent or encouragement of Beijing. The State Oceanic Administration and other non-military maritime patrol and law enforcement organizations have in the past acted carelessly, he said. These organizations are often fighting over budgets and attempting to justify their existence, thus they sometimes "act muscularly."

Double Leadership Hit Leaves U.S. Army Scrambling

The U.S. Army's reclamation project to fix its broken acquisition system took a major hit when it lost both Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey and Army acquisition chief Malcolm O'Neill in the same week, defense analysts said.

THE U.S. ARMY has been weakened by this week’s loss of acquisition chief Malcolm O’Neill, left, and Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey. (Staff file photos)

O'Neill caught many by surprise when he told his staff June 1 in an email he would resign for "personal reasons" just more than a year into the job. His resignation came two days after President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Dempsey to take over as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff just one month after he became Army chief.

"There's a very good chance the Army will take a 45-degree turn here in the fact that Dempsey and the acquisition chief are leaving at the same time. I think a lot of the directions that Dempsey put in place at [Training and Doctrine Command] and then continued in his short stint as chief are in question right now," said retired Army Lt. Gen. David Barno, who worked closely with Dempsey as an outside senior adviser when Dempsey was TRADOC commander.

Dempsey, seemingly not on the president's list to succeed Adm. Mike Mullen since he took over the Army in April, rocketed up to the top job after other potential nominees, namely Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, fell out of favor.

Losing both leaders at a time when a recent Army review of the service's acquisition system said it required "major surgery" will leave the Army looking for direction all over again.

Obama announced his nomination of Gen. Ray Odierno, head of Joint Forces Command, to take over for Dempsey at the same Memorial Day White House news conference. However, many Pentagon insiders and defense analysts struggled to come up with potential successors for O'Neill outside his key deputies, including Marilyn Freeman, deputy assistant secretary for research and technology, and Scott Fish, the Army's chief scientist.

"The silver lining in this might be that O'Neill had a time in place so it's not like there will be no adult supervision. He put together a good leadership team, but it is still a question of who will take over and whether they will follow through on his vision," said Jim Carafano, a defense analyst with the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Dempsey's service as the head of TRADOC before taking the Army's top position allowed him to spend three years reviewing the Army from a "big picture" perspective, Barno said. By comparison, Odierno has spent his last assignments either in operational billets leading the war in Iraq or closing Joint Forces Command.

"The guy who really understands this who has been working these requirements as the TRADOC commander and now the Army chief is going to be vaulted into the chairman's position and General Odierno isn't coming from that type of background. He's been out in the operating force and the joint world," Barno said.

Odierno hasn't served in a senior Army-specific billet since 2004, when he spent three months as a special assistant to the Army vice chief of staff. Peter Singer, a defense analyst with the Brookings Institute, is eager to see what Odierno lists as his priorities and how they might match up with Dempsey's.

"There's a potential the Army will lose some momentum as they go through the leadership transition … but you really can't answer the impact until you get a sense of Odierno's priorities and operating style. A very accomplished general and commander, but there are a lot of open questions of what he is going to set as his key priorities in terms of acquisition and how he runs the process."

Although the timing is odd since Dempsey had just released his commander's intent and started to dig his heels into the job, Carafano said it might be even tougher to replace O'Neill since he's had a year in the job.

"O'Neill is a little bit more disruptive to the Army because he was moving out and had some definite ideas. He was strong on using outside advisory boards and his red teams," Carafano said.

O'Neill retired as a lieutenant general after 34 years in the Army that included a stint as director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, now the Missile Defense Agency. After his Army career, he turned to industry, working for Lockheed Martin from 1996 to 2006. More recently, he served as chairman of the board on Army Science and Technology for the National Academies and the National Research Council.

Two sources said he is leaving for a health-related issue; the resignation has nothing to do with his work. The Army would not confirm if a health concern caused his resignation, however, in a recent speech, O'Neill spoke about an injury he sustained in the Vietnam War, which still plagues him today, and serves as motivation for him to help soldiers in today's fight.

"I'm still suffering the consequences of that. If I don't take my medicine every day, it's goodbye," O'Neill said.

O'Neill quickly put his mark on the Army's largest weapon programs, forming a red team to investigate the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle's (GCV) weaknesses. After soliciting bids for the vehicle, the Army withdrew its request for proposals in August 2010, revised the program's requirements to prevent cost from spiraling out of control.

Major questions remain for the program; Army Vice Chief Gen. Peter Chiarelli listed it as the service's second priority behind the Army network. The red teams, which O'Neill formed to look at GCV, questioned the urgency of the need for the vehicle in the next seven years.

"The funds that have migrated from the FCS program were driving the events and activities of the program versus a true capabilities gap," according to a Government Accountabilities Office report on the "Army's ground force modernization initiatives."

Barno said the transition in leadership will force the Army to "take another serious look" at each one of its modernization programs. When the Army looks again at the cost versus the capability the GCV provides, Barno said he's not confident the service will continue with the program.

Dempsey and O'Neill had directed industry to focus its efforts on soldier technology, dismounted operations and the squad. The Army chief wanted the Army to take a bottom-up approach versus the top-down review the service traditionally used when looking at modernization.

O'Neill also worked closely with Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter on the Defense Department's drive to find efficiencies and reduce overhead costs. The Army will have the challenge of balancing the coming reset from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with modernization programs like the GCV while defense spending continues to shrink, Carafano said.

"The cost of resetting the force is going to be huge, so they are going to have to make some really big tradeoffs here," Barno said.

Dempsey seemed to be the perfect fit to usher the Army through this transition set up by his time at TRADOC, Barno said. However, the Army's loss is the Pentagon's gain.

"It's really unfortunate for the Army but great news for the nation because I think Dempsey is a terrific pick," Barno said.

Americans Left Behind Hitler, Hilaku and Genghis Khan...

The member of KILL TEAM, Sergeant Kalvin Gas, posing with the corpse of underage Afghan in a victorious way, while the finger of the Afghan has been already removed.

In today’s civilized which country has such laws allowing massacre of persons, group or tribe merely under the doubt that they may be planning to attack that country. They are attacking thousands of miles away from one’s boundaries. In the way USA is using drone technology in massacre of innocent Pakistanis, has USA any ground to justify these murders? Where are the human rights activists of Europe? Why UNO and its influential members do not take any notice of such murders of innocent women, children, and innocent tribal people who are even ignorant of conspiracies and interests of international imperialistic forces?

                According to the news published on Saturday 16 April, 2011, USA has rejected protest of Pakistani people and concerns of Pakistani govt. over drone attacks. Not only this USA has repeated that she will not stop these attacks and end CIA operations within Pakistan as well. In order to justify these murders she harped on the same string which were used in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq and Afghanistan, “it is the duty of US govt. and CIA to protect Americans in the whole world”.

                Now the question is that how undeveloped tribal people can be threat to America thousands of miles away? The answer we get from Americans is that the US forces in Afghanistan are at stake. Would the western media and civilized world like to clarify that why US forces and their western allies are present in Afghanistan? Moreover, what these wild beasts are doing for welfare of humanity in Afghanistan? Americans are of the view that they are here to free afghan people from Taliban and give them their basic human rights, than Afghan are protesting against these bastards. Leaving others aside now even American puppet and slave Afghan President Hamid Qarzai is also protesting against war crimes of US forces in Afghanistan.

Afghan killed by Kill Team near Kandahar...

                You might have seen the videos by ROLLING STONE.COM, these videos were uploaded three weeks ago show that how American soldiers are murdering innocent Afghans as a game just for entertainment. They are made to run for their lives, than bullets are fired around them. Afghan youth try to take shelter behind trees or rocks but at last are killed by American terrorists.

                Afghan youth are made to run for their life in open fields/plans, during this a US helicopter shows its skills to target these innocent people by firing rockets. As soon as the rocket hits the running poor soul his/her body is torn apart into pieces. Such scenes are recorded to commemorate the violations of human rights by Hilaku and Changez Khan. When alive humans were targeted by arrows in the big gatherings, as the arrow hit the running man and he fall down, spectators used to clap and raised slogans for the arrow man. These movies were published under the title of

                THEY KILLED FOR ENTERTAINMENT

by rolling stone.com.

                2 days before this German weekly SPIEGEL  published 18 pictures of Afghan people corpses in a post US SOLDIERS MURDERING AFGHAN CIVILIANS FOR FUN. In these pictures it has been showed that how US soldiers thirsty of human blood enjoy slaying innocent Afghans, these American beasts have been given the name of KILL TEAM by Spiegel International. After watching the pictures Afghan President first time condemned the war crimes of US army saying, “US soldiers deployed in Afghanistan use opium and marijuana whole night and in the day when they get out of effect of drugs, they set out for hunt of innocent Afghans”. He also said, “I am shocked after watching these photos, all these scenes should awake world that what US forces are doing in Afghanistan. They killed our youth for fun”.

Scanning birthmarks of a dead Afghan through Portable Biometric Scanner

                According to John Goetz and Marc Hujer, representatives of Spiegel, US govt. got worried after the photos were published. Because this might become another scandal like Abu Ghraib jail scandal in Iraq 6 years ago. In order to tackle this situation Vice US President Joe Biden at once visited Kabul to restrain Hamid Qarzai from a harsh reaction. But the photos are so much dreadful and heart rendering that if Hamid Qarzai had not condemned them, his govt. would have been at stake. According to the report, the kill team belongs to fifth Stryker Brigade.

                In order to suppress these reports, US govt. has sentenced one American soldier 24 years imprisonment for murdering innocent Afghans. Although he has been put behind the bars but after a plea in the civil court he will be freed. However, can this punishment redress the massacre of Afghans? Like Vietnam US soldiers are busy in raping Afghan women besides murdering them.

An ill fated Afghan who became target of a rocket fired by American Kill Team...

                On 14^th January 2011 different news websites published a reportDAUGHTER OF AN AFGHAN POLITICIAN DIED FROM RAPE INJURIES CAUSED BY US SOLDIERS. According to the report, many Afghan women and girls were kidnapped and shifted to an American army base in southwestern province FARAH of Afghanistan to fulfill sexual lust of US soldiers. Here three underage girls got critical situation and were shifted to hospital. A 14 year old girl lost her life due to over bleeding of blood.  Americans wanted to take the dead body along with them so that it can be safely disposed off. However, an employee of the hospital identified the girl as the daughter of a famous politician from the Farah province. She had disappeared a few days ago. On the interference by the hospital staff, Americans left the dead body into the hospital and took the other two girls along with them.

                 These news got published on different news websites by an Iranian news agency, in spite of all the efforts to suppress the report by Americans. After this the report about the KILL TEAM unveiled the American terrorism in Afghanistan. According to German weekly Spiegel, “Americans after murdering innocent Afghans as a game, create war like environment by throwing grenades and firing countless bullets, they try to feel like they have murdered these innocents after a fierce fighting. Afterwards in order to fulfill the legal requirements they make photos with the dead bodies as victorious. Dead bodies are ripped of the clothes and fingerprints, other birthmarks are recorded through the portable biometric scanners and this recorded information is than sent to higher command. The finger of the dead is cut and preserved so that when these soldiers return back home they can put it as a trophy in their drawing room”. These bastards in Vietnam and Iraq did same actions.

                Although Americans have assured Afghan officials that they will punish other soldiers seen in the pictures (this has been done just to avoid protests), an American envoy also visited Kabul in this regard. But will America fulfill it promises? The answer is, “the murderer of two Pakistanis Raymond Davis has been appointed as in Afghanistan to supervise anti-Pakistan activities”. According to the media reports, he is given free hand to conduct terrorist activities through his agents in Pakistan from Afghanistan.

                Keep in mind that American officials, Hilary Clinton and Senator John Kerry had assured Pakistan that a case would be filed against Davis in American court to punish Davis for murdering two Pakistanis. But alas! In spite of all their boastful and barbaric practices Hilaku and Genghis Khan always fulfilled their promises…