China looms large at Munich security talks

Britain urges military co-operation with France: report
London (AFP) Feb 3, 2010 - Britain is calling for greater military co-operation with France in a bid to map out a more secure future for the country's cash-strapped armed forces, a newspaper reported Wednesday. A government blueprint on the way ahead for the forces, cited by the Financial Times, puts an unexpectedly heavy emphasis on its need to work with the EU to maintain its role on the world stage. In particular, the document praises the decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to take France fully back into the military alliance NATO and raises the prospect of joint defence work. "The return of France to NATO's integrated military structures offers an opportunity for even greater co-operation with a key partner across a range of defence activity," says the document, drawn up by defence minister Bob Ainsworth.

The blueprint is designed to set out the terms on which Britain will conduct a major defence review, that will take place after a forthcoming general election expected in May. Despite stressing that London's most important military alliance remains with Washington, the document goes to great lengths to highlight the importance of joint European security and defence policy. "The UK will greatly improve its influence if we and our European partners speak and act in concert," it says. "A robust EU role in crisis management will strengthen NATO. Playing a leading role at the heart of Europe will strengthen our relationship with the US." The defence review may also look at whether Britain needs to re-examine the weight it attaches to its relationships with NATO and the EU, said the Financial Times. It is the first assessment for more than a decade and comes against the backdrop of huge pressure on the public finances as the country recovers from its worst recession in decades and an increasingly bloody war in Afghanistan.

by Staff Writers
Munich, Germany (AFP) Feb 3, 2010
China will send its foreign minister to the Munich Security Conference for the first time this week, in a further sign of Beijing's growing military clout a year into Barack Obama's US presidency.

The 46-year-old gathering in Germany from Friday to Sunday of top military brass, diplomats and politicians has its roots in the Cold War and has traditionally stuck to areas of common interest to Washington and Europe.

But mirroring the fact that many of the 21st century's security challenges are now global in nature, from terrorism to the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea to Afghanistan, the conference is widening its scope.

Alongside China's Yang Jiechi, senior representatives from India and Pakistan were also expected, with Washington sending Senator John Kerry, National Security Advisor James Jones and Afghanistan-Pakistan envoy Richard Holbrooke.

Others include Afghan President Hamid Karzai, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. It was unclear, however, if Iranian officials would attend as in previous years.

"We can only answer today's security questions if we are ready to think globally," said Wolfgang Ischinger, the veteran German diplomat who organises Munich. "And that means involving Asia."

Obama is counting on fellow UN Security Council member China on a whole range of security issues, most notably to back his efforts in pressing North Korea and Iran over their nuclear ambitions.

But with Washington and Beijing already failing to see eye to eye in several areas, relations took a turn for the worse this week as China threatened diplomatic reprisals over US arms sales to Taiwan.

Moreover, relations with China are not the only foreign policy area where things are failing to match up to Obama's rhetoric, a year after Vice President Joe Biden used Munich to promise a "new tone."

Topping the list are Obama's vision for a world free of nuclear weapons, the bogged-down Afghanistan mission, stalled efforts to reach out to Iran and the spluttering Middle East peace process.

Russia, another veto-holder on the Security Council, is also key to Obama's ambitions, and here too the reality is not as rosy as was hoped when Biden vowed in Munich to "reset the button" in relations with Moscow.

Moscow and Washington are yet to agree on a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which expired in December, ahead of a review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in May.

The Kremlin is still sceptical about Obama's plans for a missile defence shield to intercept Iranian rockets, parts of which would be in Europe, even though the project has been substantially watered down.

The US administration is reportedly placing specialised ships with missile-targeting capabilities off Iran's coast, and anti-missile systems in at least four Gulf states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The eastwards expansion of NATO has also stuck in Moscow's throat, and the military alliance's future is set to be on the agenda, particularly with regard to Afghanistan after last week's crunch London conference on the mission.

"After a year of great visions, pressure is now growing that these big words, these very beautiful and important words, be followed by deeds," Ischinger said.

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For Obama on China, no more Mr. Nice Guy?
Washington (AFP) Feb 1, 2010
After a year of wooing China, President Barack Obama is showing a new side by brazenly defying the rising Asian power - while hoping that the rift will be temporary. The Obama administration on Friday signed off on a 6.4 billion-dollar arms package for Taiwan. China, which claims the island, had repeatedly warned against the sale and retaliated by vowing to punish US companies. Obama co ... read more

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