Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SUPERPOWERS
US seeks to reassure Japan amid Ukraine crisis fallout
by Staff Writers
Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan (AFP) April 05, 2014


Czech leader urges NATO action if Russia invades Ukraine
Prague (AFP) April 06, 2014 - NATO should deploy troops in Ukraine if Russia invades the eastern parts of the crisis-torn country, the president of the Czech Republic said Sunday.

Milos Zeman said that there should be consequences if Russia decides to follow its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea last month with further military action.

"If Russia decides to extend its territorial expansion to eastern Ukraine, the fun is over," he told public Czech Radio.

"In that case, I would promote not only the toughest EU sanctions possible, but also let's say military readiness on the part of NATO, for instance with its troops entering the Ukrainian territory," he added.

Ukraine has been ruled by a pro-European administration since the fall of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February, amid massive protests against his rule.

Crimea's largely Russian-speaking residents voted in March to become part of Russia, in a hastily organised referendum held as Russian troops patrolled the region.

Several eastern regions with large Russian-speaking populations want to follow Crimea's example and stage referendums on joining Kremlin rule when Ukraine holds snap presidential polls on May 25.

Philippines pledges restraint in China sea row
Manila (AFP) April 04, 2014 - The Philippines pledged to act with restraint on Friday a week after China tried to block a boat ferrying supplies to Filipino troops on a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

"(The) Philippines makes clear that it will continue to exercise self-restraint and will not raise tension in the South China Sea," Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

He issued the statement after a week of diplomatic wrangling following a Philippine boat's delivery of food, water and fresh troops to Second Thomas Shoal, also claimed by Beijing, by slipping through a blockade by two Chinese coastguard vessels.

A small number of Filipino soldiers are stationed on a Navy vessel that was grounded on the shoal in 1999 to assert the Philippines' sovereignty.

A day after the incident, the Philippines further infuriated China by asking a United Nations tribunal to declare Beijing's claims to undisputed sovereignty over most of the strategically important sea as illegal.

China strongly criticised the Philippine government actions, warning Tuesday that the UN appeal had "seriously damaged" bilateral ties and holding Manila responsible for the "consequences" of the UN move.

"The Philippines is not the country that has greatly increased its naval and maritime presence in the South China Sea," del Rosario retorted Friday.

"Nor has it challenged freedom of navigation. Nor has it blockaded nor forcefully intimidated any other country in the South China Sea. Countries should be judged by their actions, not by their words."

China has said its coastguard turned away another Filipino vessel on a similar resupply mission early last month, forcing the Philippine military to air-drop supplies to its small unit of marines aboard an old navy ship guarding the reef.

The reef lies 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the nearest major Philippine island, and more than a thousand kilometres from a major Chinese land mass.

It is part of the Spratlys, a chain of islets and reefs that sit near key shipping lanes and are surrounded by rich fishing grounds.

Apart from China and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have overlapping claims to parts of the area.

Manila's UN appeal argues Beijing's claims are contrary to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and interferes with the Philippines' sovereign rights to its continental shelf.

Both countries are signatories to UNCLOS, but Beijing argues that its provisions do not apply to the row.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday vowed America would stand by its security commitments to Tokyo, after Russia's intervention in Ukraine raised concerns in a region plagued by its own territorial disputes.

Hagel, on a two-day visit to Japan as part of a tour of Asia, acknowledged Russia's annexation of Crimea had sparked worries among allies in the Pacific and elsewhere.

Japan is locked in a bitter dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea, and some analysts have warned that Russia's move in Ukraine could embolden Beijing or other powers to take unilateral action to settle territorial claims.

"It's a pretty predictable ... reaction, not just of nations in this area, in this region, but all over the world. It has to concern nations," Hagel told reporters before landing at Yokota Air Base in Japan.

Although his trip was planned long before Russia's incursion, Hagel said "another reason I'm here is to reassure our allies of our commitments to their security".

He said US defence ties with Tokyo had strengthened in recent years with the deployment of advanced surveillance aircraft to the country and plans to station a second early-warning radar there later this year.

"I don't think there's any indication or any evidence that we're doing anything but strengthening our commitment to the security of Japan," he said.

Hagel later reinforced the message speaking to a group of US and Japanese troops in a hangar at Yokota Air Base, saying he had come to reaffirm "our continued commitment to our partnership, our friendships and our treaty obligations."

"We are serious about that," he said, standing in front of giant US and Japanese flags.

Soaring tensions in the East China Sea have prompted the United States to explicitly state its mutual defence treaty with Tokyo applies to the islets, which are currently administered by Japan.

Washington has warned China against trying to resolve the disagreement through force.

The crisis over Ukraine came up at a gathering of ASEAN defence ministers hosted by Hagel earlier this week in Hawaii, a defence official said.

But the topic was raised only "tangentially" and "there wasn't a lot of hand wringing over Ukraine and what will happen in their part of the world," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

- Territorial disputes a 'concern' -

At the end of the ASEAN session, Hagel on Thursday voiced "increasing concern" over separate territorial disputes between several nations in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

The Philippines and some other Southeast Asian states have accused China of aggressively asserting its claims and Hagel -- without openly referring to Beijing -- said there was no place for "bullying."

"You always have concerns when these issues continue to play out and drag out. And you always have concerns when there's any indication of coercion, intimidation, or bullying," he told reporters travelling on his plane.

He said the United States did not take a position on the specific territorial arguments and favoured resolving them peacefully.

But he added: "That said, we will honour all of our treaty commitments to our treaty partners."

Hagel also said one of the top themes on his agenda was promoting stronger ties between Japan and South Korea, which have been severely strained in recent months as controversies have flared over the legacy of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

Hagel is due to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday before holding talks on Sunday with his counterpart, Itsunori Onodera, and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

In an article published by Japan's Nikkei daily, Hagel said he supported the Japanese prime minister's plan to review Japan's self-imposed ban on defending allies under armed attack.

Japan's conservative premier has spoken repeatedly of his desire to revise the US-imposed pacifist constitution and is pushing to broaden the role of the military to permit "collective self-defence", allowing Japanese troops to come to the aid of allies.

The Pentagon chief's tour, which will take him next to China and Mongolia, comes ahead of a trip to Asia by President Barack Obama later this month.

.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SUPERPOWERS
NATO has 'grave concern' over Russia troop buildup
Brussels (AFP) April 02, 2014
NATO warned on Wednesday that Russia's military presence on the flashpoint border with Ukraine was of "grave concern" and that Moscow's forces could reach military objectives in just days. Russian troops are poised to attack within 12 hours and could invade vast portions of Ukrainian territory in three to five days, General Philip Breedlove, NATO's top commander, told two American newspapers ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
Unique camera from NASA's moon missions sold at auction

Expeditions to the Moon: beware of meteorites

A Wet Moon

ASU camera creates stunning mosaic of moon's polar region

SUPERPOWERS
The Opposition of Mars

Mars yard ready for Red Planet rover

Mars One building simulated colony to vet potential colonists

Cleaner NASA Rover Sees Its Shadow in Martian Spring

SUPERPOWERS
China, Asia-Pacific, will power world tourism: survey

NASA Marks Major Milestone for Spaceport of the Future

NASA Commercial Crew Partners Complete Space System Milestones

High School 'Final Five' Compete for Out-of-This-World Test on Orion

SUPERPOWERS
China launches experimental satellite

Tiangong's New Mission

"Space Odyssey": China's aspiration in future space exploration

China to launch first "space shuttle bus" this year

SUPERPOWERS
Soyuz Docking Delayed Till Thursday as Station Crew Adjusts Schedule

US, Russian astronauts take new trajectory to dock the ISS

Software glitch most probable cause of Soyuz TMA-12 taking two day approach

Russian spacecraft brings three-man crew to ISS after two-day delay

SUPERPOWERS
Soyuz ready for Sentinel-1A satellite launch

Boeing wins contract to design DARPA Airborne Satellite Launch

Arianespace's seventh Soyuz mission from French Guiana is readied for liftoff next week

NASA Seeks Suborbital Flight Proposals

SUPERPOWERS
Lick's Automated Planet Finder: First robotic telescope for planet hunters

Space Sunflower May Help Snap Pictures of Planets

NRL Researchers Detect Water Around a Hot Jupiter

UK joins the planet hunt with Europe's PLATO mission

SUPERPOWERS
The Space Debris Radar Developed By Indra Passes ESA Tests

NASA Awards Digital Processor Assembly Contract for LCRD Flight Payload

Chile quake pushes copper price to three-week high

Space Observation Optics Cover from IR to X-ray Wavelengths




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.