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[stonedyou] 05/10/2020 13:31

Chinese anxiety over Tibet fuels rising tensions with India

Xi Jinping appears to have underestimated New Delhi's capacity to fight back



Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and author of nine books, including "Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India and Japan."

Is China's insecurity over the restive Tibetan Plateau, which has already led to a major military standoff between the two Asian giants along their long and treacherous Himalayan frontier, driving President Xi Jinping's belligerent policy toward India? The extended standoff has certainly raised the risks of further localized battles or another full-scale border war.

Xi recently underscored his regime's anxieties by ordering Communist Party, government and military leaders to turn remote Tibet into an "impregnable fortress" against separatism and "solidify border defenses" to ensure frontier security with India. He also called for the Sinicizing of Tibetan Buddhism to help accelerate the Tibetan minority's assimilation into the dominant Han culture.


Several issues are fueling Xi's concerns over Tibet: controlling who succeeds the 85-year-old Dalai Lama; continued Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule; and China's growing suspicions about India, which hosts a Tibetan government-in-exile and welcomes fleeing Tibetans.

Xi has sought to ruthlessly root out all signs of unrest in Tibet, the world's largest and highest plateau that is very far from Beijing. Tibet's capital, Lhasa, is more than 3,500 kilometers from the Chinese capital, but only 1,356 kilometers from New Delhi.

[stonedyou] 05/10/2020 12:41

Ready for any possible conflict including two-front war, says IAF chief amid tensions with China

RKS Bhadauria said that the Rafale fighter jets have given India ‘an edge and capability to strike first and deep’.


Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Monday said that the Indian Air Force was ready for any possible conflict including a two-front war, reported PTI. His comments come at a time when bilateral ties between India and China have been tense since May due to the border stand-off along the Line of Actual Control.

“The emerging threat scenario in our neighbourhood and beyond mandates need to have a robust capability to fight across the entire spectrum of warfare,” Bhadauria said during a press briefing ahead of the National Air Force Day on October 8. “I can share with you with confidence that operationally, we are amongst the best.”

[stonedyou] 02/10/2020 08:52

The board has proposed a final dividend of ZAR312.9 million for the 2020 financial

year (approximately US$18.7 million), equal to ZA 14.00000 cents per share or

approximately US 0.83582 cents per share (0.65451 pence per share)

provide for a 40% payout ratio of net cash generated from operating activities.

[stonedyou] 01/10/2020 14:22

Azerbaijani territory comes under rocket fire from Armenia's Gorus region


Baku, October 1, AZERTAC

“On October 1 in the morning, the territory of Azerbaijan came under rocket fire from Gorus region of Armenia,” press service of Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry told AZERTAC.

According to the ministry, the rockets fired from Armenia hit the front line in the Jabrayil-Fuzuli area.

“We demand that Armenia immediately stop shelling the territories of Azerbaijan, and we warn that otherwise adequate responsive measures will be taken,” the ministry said.

[stonedyou] 30/9/2020 21:35

'Britain is READY to walk away!' Gove in furious threat as EU's Brexit games
EXPOSED

Michael Gove believes the European Union's behaviour over the last four years has proven that it is not worth compromising in Brexit talks - and warned Brussels there will be no last minute capitulation.


The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who runs the Cabinet Office at the heart of government and is responsible for the Brexit talks, has given his clearest warning yet that Britain will happily walk away with no deal in a few weeks time. He mocked Brussels for being reduced to “kidology” to give the impression Britain was compromising when it was Michel Barnier’s team having to make concessions.

Mr Gove was speaking to Tatton MP Esther McVey in an exclusive interview for the Blue Collar Conservatism/Daily Express virtual conference this week.

[stonedyou] 30/9/2020 21:11

South China Sea threat: US deploys deadly hunter drones as Beijing intensifies war drills

US MILITARY chiefs have deployed their most advanced armed drones in the South China Sea in response to increasingly hostile exercises by China in the troubled region.


Pentagon officials said hunter-killer MQ-9 Reapers, which have so far been used to battle insurgents in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, are now being reprogrammed for maritime operations in southeast Asia. Beijing said it had lodged "stern representations" with the US.



An MQ-9 Reaper was used earlier this year in the killing of top Iranian commander Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last January.

Analysts said the deadly drone had a 40-hour endurance with a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet.

Its payload capacity, including air to surface missile and laser-guided bombs, is up to 2.5 tonnes.

But security experts in Beijing have dismissed the US move, telling the state-owned newspaper the Global Times stated the MQ-9 is not a serious challenge for China.

[stonedyou] 30/9/2020 20:56

Are India, China preparing for war?


Instead of disengagement, the Indian and Chinese armies have deployed an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 soldiers each along the LAC.
The PLA has deployed S-400 air defence missiles to neutralise the IAF's advantage in air power.

Ajai Shukla reports



Late on September 22 evening, a full day after the conclusion of the sixth round of talks between Indian and Chinese military commanders, the two sides issued a joint statement that agreed to 'earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any action that might complicate the situation.'

Notably, the statement made no mention of any of India's core concerns: A troop pull-back by China and a reversion to the status quo ante of April.

Senior government sources say that, during previous talks, China's People's Liberation Army hardened its stance, conveying to the Indian Army that it must vacate five-six tactically dominating heights it occupied south of the Pangong Tso lake.


In a worrying development for the Indian Air Force, Indian planners are evaluating the veracity of reports that the PLA has already deployed a regiment of state-of-the-art S-400 air defence missiles opposite the Chumar area; and another regiment is being moved into the Depsang sector.

The Russian S-400 missile regiments, which can accurately strike Indian aircraft at ranges up to 400 kilometres, would allow the PLA to substantially neutralise the IAF's advantage in air power.


The joint statement left the path for dialogue open, mentioning that the two sides agreed to hold the seventh round of military commander-level meetings as soon as possible.

[stonedyou] 30/9/2020 20:31

Russia to Turkey: if your fighter shot down the Armenian Su-25 we will intervene



MOSCOW, (BM) – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued a strong and clear warning to Turkey about the country’s involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.


“The downing of an Armenian SU-25 fighter from a Turkish F-16, according to the Armenian Defense Ministry, is said to complicate the situation, as Moscow is obliged to provide military assistance to Armenia under the Tashkent Treaty” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

In parallel with Zakharova’s statement, Yerevan hastened to publish photos of the downed Turkish fighter jet, thus refuting Ankara’s claims that this was not true. As we announced yesterday, Yerevan is currently considering whether to take advantage of the activation of Article 4 of the CSTO.

At the same time, Azerbaijan is playing a dangerous game, trying to worsen the situation by sharing information that Turkish F-16s shot down not one but two Armenian fighters.

The information was provided today by the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hadjiev. He directly accused Armenia of lying and misinformation, and said that the Armenian military is trying to misinform and not present voluminous information to the public and the world.

Yesterday we informed you about the shot down Armenian Su-25 from a Turkish F-16, and according to initial information it was not clear where exactly it was shot down. Later, various reports emerged that this had happened over Armenia or in Armenian airspace.

[stonedyou] 30/9/2020 11:00

The board has proposed a final dividend of ZAR312.9 million for the 2020 financial

year (approximately US$18.7 million), equal to ZA 14.00000 cents per share or

approximately US 0.83582 cents per share (0.65451 pence per share)

provide for a 40% payout ratio of net cash generated from operating activities.

[stonedyou] 29/9/2020 22:34

US MQ-9 drones use China as imaginary enemy, ‘easy to shoot down’


China can easily shoot down the US' MQ-9 Reaper drones - a type of aircraft designed for anti-terrorism missions and "bullying" armed forces without proper air defense systems - should the US send them and launch attacks on China, Chinese military experts said on Tuesday, after US media reported that the US Air Force is using China as an imaginary opponent of the drones.

The US held "Exercise Agile Reaper" - the first training event featuring MQ-9 drones in the Pacific focusing on tactics including maritime interdiction capabilities - from September 3 until Tuesday, the Air Force Magazine, an official publication of the US Air Force Association, reported on September 24.

During the event, the US airmen wore patches on their uniforms featuring an MQ-9 superimposed over a red silhouette of China, the report said. The US Air Force's arrogance is on display as it is making China an imaginary enemy for the drones, analysts said.

The MQ-9 is not worth worrying about for China, because it does not possess stealth capabilities and flies at a low speed and low ceiling, which makes it an easy target for ground-to-air missiles, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Armed reconnaissance drones - like the MQ-9 - can only be deployed when facing smaller countries and regions with less developed armed forces that do not have adequate air defense capabilities, Fu said, noting that many US drones have been shot down in their previous missions.

[spaceavenger] 28/9/2020 21:05

Gold price is coming back! Not that it was low anyway. Remember these shares haves am AISC of less than $1000/oz.Dividend 0.75 THIS year, but next year...

[hjs] 28/9/2020 14:24

Imho, this is the end of consolidation and will turn north.

[astjgroom] 28/9/2020 12:25

Dollar could devalue by 35% before end of 2021. Gold n I would like that

[spaceavenger] 26/9/2020 17:53

The dividend is acceptable based on LAST Year's results but they were before the gold price surged upwards to a new normal (heh!) of around $2000/oz.So why aren't investors piling into small precious metals producers, considering they are priced based on out of date precious metal prices?Because a crashing market lowers all boats and the big cap market is overpriced, so are they all waiting for a lower entry point to these massively cash generative shares, after a general correction?

[stonedyou] 25/9/2020 16:15

Taiwan’s high-profile missile tests no threat to PLA: experts


"*Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), told a regular press conference in Beijing on Thursday, that the PLA would resolutely defeat "Taiwan independence" forces attempting to separate Taiwan from China.*"



The island of Taiwan's Hsiung Feng II E supersonic anti-ship missiles and its enhanced Sky Bow III surface-to-air missiles were likely at the center of a reported high-profile missile launch test on Thursday, defense experts said, adding that the weapons pose no real threat to People's Liberation Army's (PLA) ballistic missiles.

Taiwan island local media reported that local weapons developer the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) launched two unnamed missiles from Jiupeng base in Pingtung county and Sanxiantai in Taitung county, at around 7:40 pm on Thursday.

The two missiles simulated an interception operation after they took off to an unspecific altitude, reports said. Personnel at the site wouldn't reveal details of the tests, claiming they were merely regular tests.

The NCSIST had said there was no altitude limit for the missile tests, but a 300-kilometer stretch of the Pacific - encompassing the waters off Hualien and Taitung Counties and Orchid Island - was closed off, local media reported prior of the test event.

It's likely that the Hsiung Feng II E played the role of target projectile to test the interception capability of an enhanced variant of the Sky Bow III missile, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday. The test only demonstrates the Sky Bow III's possible ability to intercept warplanes and cruise missiles, but not ballistic missiles.

The island does not have ballistic missiles it could use to test the interception capability of its missiles, Song pointed out, while noting that in an actual military conflict, the PLA would deploy ballistic missiles to destroy the enemy's anti-aircraft missile systems before sending in warplanes.

The tests also show the island does not stand a chance in a military confrontation with the mainland, Song noted.

[astjgroom] 25/9/2020 09:44

The loneliest thread in the world :-)))