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Chinese construction on the previously submerged Hughes Reef. Photo: Tuoi Tre

I had not given much thought to the flight plan of the airline I recently booked to go back to the U.S. from Vietnam, but recent events in the airspace over the South China Sea prompted an online search. As I discovered, my commercial flight will be flying not far from where a U.S. surveillance plane was warned on Wednesday to leave by a Chinese radar operator.

The P8-A Poseidon, the U.S. military’s most advanced surveillance aircraft, was flying near artificial islands which China is constructing, and the order is thought to have come from an early warning radar station on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Island chain, on which the Chinese have been constructing military facilities, which include a 10,000-foot runway. New satellite images show heightened reclamation work by China at seven sites in the Spratlys, adding around 2,000 acres of land since March 2014. Beijing claimed last month that the new islands would benefit provide weather forecasting and search and rescue facilities for the benefit of other countries, while admitting the islands could also be used for military purposes.

Also on board the P8-A Poseidon was a television crew from CNN, which recorded the American pilot insisting they were flying over international airspace. A commercial flight operated by Delta was also in contact with the Chinese radar operator during the confrontation with the U.S. military aircraft, and assured of safe passage. Following the incident, both Beijing and Washington accused each other of taking potentially dangerous actions, sparking memories of the 2001 collision between another U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter aircraft. In the 2001 confrontation, the Chinese pilot was killed while the American surveillance crew were detained on Hainan island.

The latest confrontation, along with earlier warnings to Philippine military aircraft to evacuate airspace in the same area, are igniting concern among claimant nations to the waters (Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan), as well as the Obama Administration. While China has not officially declared an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, it claims the right to establish an ADIZ — similar to the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone it introduced in November 2013. The U.S. response back then was similarly confrontational, as American B-52 bombers were ordered to fly through the zone. Both military and commercial aircraft operating in ADIZs are required to identify themselves or be subject to military intervention.

As tensions of claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea have escalated, the U.S. has repeatedly expressed its desire for freedom of navigation in the waters, which see around $5 trillion in shipments. To reinforce this message, the Pentagon is actively considering the deployment of military aircraft and ships to within 12 nautical miles to patrol the disputed waters and airspace of the Spratly archipelago.

In an apparent response to Wednesday’s confrontation, Chinese embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan hoped “relevant parties” would not to take sides “and refrain from playing up tensions.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying added, “Freedom of navigation does not give one country’s military aircraft and ships free access to another country’s territorial waters and airspace,” according to Xinhua, China’s state-owned news agency.

Given China’s claim to some 90 percent of the South China Sea, how far Beijing is willing to prevent free access to any country’s military and ships remains to be seen.   “Freedom of Navigation” exercises were conducted by the U.S. military last year, and the combat ship USS Fort Worth just completed a week-long patrol near the disputed Spratly Islands, where it encountered numerous Chinese warships.

Other regional actors such as the Japanese may become more involved, should they decide to join the U.S. in conducting joint maritime air patrols.  Japan held its first joint naval exercise with the Philippines last week in the South China Sea, and has promised to supply Manila with 10 coastguard vessels by the end of the year.  Last week, foreign and local journalists were invited by Manila to tour the Thitu Island, the largest island occupied by the Philippines in the South China Sea.  Japan also conducted search and rescue training with Vietnam this week, and is supplying used navy patrol boats to Hanoi.

While the latest incident ended relatively quickly, the International Crisis Group warned in a report released last week that clashes in the South China Sea were “becoming more heated and the lulls between period of tension are growing shorter.” With the flight of the surveillance plane, Washington made it clear it would not tolerate any further restrictions to international airspace over the South China Sea, with Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, saying, “Nobody in their right mind is going to try to stop the U.S. Navy from operating.”

How far Washington will go to preserve freedom of navigation and how far Beijing is willing to assert sovereignty over the 90 percent of the South China Sea it claims remains to be seen. But small-scale skirmishes will continue, and despite warnings in the Global Times, a Chinese state-owned newspaper, that construction of the artificial islands is the country’s “most important bottom line,” and that “war is inevitable” unless Washington stops demanding Beijing halt the construction, China is not prepared for conflict with the United States, and the U.S. is not prepared to go to war with China over small piles of sand. Wednesday’s provocation was a carefully crafted combination of hard and soft power from Washington, using not a B-52 bomber but a surveillance plane, and using a television crew to curry international favor.  Sometimes using soft power to shame proves vastly more effective than forcing a country to save face with a military challenge.

Húszszázalékos fizetésemelést ígért a tanügyi kisegítő személyzetnek az oktatási minisztérium, így eredményesnek mondható a háromszékiek hétfői tüntetése. 
Kategória: Erdélyi hírek

Sokadik nyílt konzuli fogadónapját tartotta ma délelőtt Magyarkanizsán a szabadkai Magyar Főkonzulátus.

To keep up with Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Howard W. French argues that President Obama’s choice to run the United States Agency for International Development exposes the bankruptcy of Washington’s thinking on Africa. Juan Nagel profiles Venezuela’s top comedian, whose act exposes the absurdity of his country’s regime. ...

A marosvásárhelyi szakoktatás felélesztése érdekében nyújtana támogatást a megyeszékhely németországi testvérvárosa, Ilmenau önkormányzata – jelentette be kedden Dorin Florea polgármester.
Kategória: Erdélyi hírek

BÉCS. Terrorizmus vádjával nyolc hónap letöltendő és tizenhat hónap felfüggesztett börtönbüntetésre ítélt egy 14 éves fiút kedden a Sankt Pölten-i tartományi bíróság.

May/June Visual Statement

Since independence, African states and organizations have made significant investments in conflict management and resolution tools. So why do some African states and regions remain saddled by conflict and instability? How can African states leverage democratic governance to end wars?

The new report Silencing the Guns suggests that the key to ending conflict in Africa lies in fostering effective governance and creating political and economic institutions that can effectively prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts. Author Gilbert Khadiagala unpacks how and why democratic governance is linked to conflict prevention and management, and provides an overview of landmark trends that have influenced governance in Africa since the 1950s. He shows that not all forms of democratic governance reduce conflicts and examines the ways in which “developmental dictatorships,” corruption, and the privatization of security are posing obstacles for governance and peace today.

To strengthen governance as a tool for peace in Africa, the author offers the following recommendations:

• African governments and states should prioritize national infrastructures for peace that allow early detection, prevention, management, and resolution of violent conflicts. They should enhance people’s participation in political and economic processes, promote sound and equitable livelihoods, and strengthen Africa-specific strategies for conflict transformation.
• Regional economic communities should consolidate their current efforts to implement regional collective security and governance frameworks that promote peace, enshrine common democratic values, and foster disarmament and military reductions consistent with regional resources.
• The African Union should advance implementation of normative frameworks around governance, conflict prevention, management, and resolution, such as the African Peace and Security Architecture and the African Governance Architecture.
• The international community should cut the sources of armaments that have fueled African wars and renew attempts to clamp down on unsustainable arms flows into Africa.

This report is a joint undertaking by the African Union and the International Peace Institute.

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Hétfő este vette kezdetét a Szerb Orvosi Kamara által szervezett Szerbiai Sürgősségi Egészségügyi Ellátás Konferenciája, melyet az idén kilencedik alkalommal rendeznek meg, s a tanácskozásnak immár második alkalommal Szabadka ad otthont.

Avocate au barreau du Tchad, pr�sidente de l'Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la d�fense des droits de l'Homme (ATPDH) et r�cipiendaire du Right Livelihood Award en 2011, Jacqueline Moudeina lutte depuis une quinzaine d'ann�es pour que l'ancien pr�sident Hiss�ne Habr� r�ponde des accusations de crimes de guerre, crimes contre l'humanit� et crimes de torture qui p�sent sur lui.

En 2010, le président russe d’alors, Dmitri Medvedev, avait décidé de surseoir à la livraison de systèmes de défense aérienne S-300 que l’Iran avait commandés trois ans plus tôt, en mettant en avant la résolution 1929 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies, laquelle interdisait la vente de matériels militaires, dont « les missiles et les […]

Cet article Moscou et Téhéran auraient terminé les discussions sur la livraison du système de défense aérienne russe S-300 est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

A német rendőrség őrizetbe vett egy 25 éves müncheni prostituáltat. A vád többsíkú: kábítószer birtoklása és báránytartás. A prostitúció, mint olyan nem ütközik törvénybe Németországban, teljesen más tál tészta viszont kiskorú juhot tartani a kupiban! Rendőrségi források szerint a vádlott ugyan rész...

Továbbra sem lesznek egyenlő feltételek a földosztásnál. Csicsai Gábor, a Híd parlamenti képviselője előterjesztette a föld- és területrendezéssel kapcsolatos törvényjavaslatot, amelyet a parlament a májusi ülésen tárgyalt.

Szerdán délben a főtéren először nyílik alkalmuk a szabadkaiaknak megtekinteni a végzős középiskolások táncát, mely városunkban egy egészen új módja lesz a ballagó diákok búcsúzásának a középiskolától.

From Arlene Kushner:
May 25, 2015
Confusion on the Government FrontWith regard to the establishment of a government, I do not remember the situation ever being quite as unclear and in flux as it is now.

Part of the problem is that ministry responsibilities have not been precisely delineated – that is, there is overlap among various ministries.  Makes it tougher to understand who is accountable for what, and tends to generate tensions between those heading those ministries.

In addition, there are ministries in which responsibilities are shared internally or even farmed out to persons outside the ministry in question.  This is the case, for example, with Silvan Shalom, who is not in the Foreign Ministry and yet has been given responsibilities that might be expected to be within the jurisdiction of that ministry, such as strategic dialogue with the US.

And, to top it all off, there are MKs who have been given more than one ministry, although we are seeing shifts in that situation.

~~~~~~~~~~

What I want to do here is provide an update on the situation since my last posting. But be forewarned: none of this is carved in stone and there may yet be other “adjustments.”


Last I wrote, I said that Gilad Erdan (pictured below), who is second on the Likud list, would not be taking a portfolio:  He had hoped for Public Security - which was in the end given to Yariv Levin - but only in conjunction with Interior – a position Erdan had held, but which was given to Shalom - because the two ministries work together.  He said that what he was offered by Netanyahu didn’t provide him with the tools to do his job effectively.  The problems that ensued here were a reflection of tensions between Netanyahu and Erdan, which have now been smoothed over.

Credit: Huffington Post
Photo not from original post
The word today is that Erdan will be Minister of Public Security after all.  And no, he will not be given Interior, but the reports are that he will be given a generous budget and possibly the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which had been given to Ze’ev Elkin, along with Immigration.

~~~~~~~~~~

A bit of clarification might help here:

Public Security is the statewide enforcement agency responsible for police, the prison system, rescue system, etc.  There are no independent local police departments – everything is overseen at a national level.  In light of terrorist acts inside of Israel and decisions that must be made regarding how to respond to them, this is a position of considerable import. An enhanced budget for police work seems to me an excellent thing.

Interior is the agency responsible for local government, citizenship and residency, identity cards, and student and entry visas.  Erdan had felt that coordination between local governments (municipal, etc.) and the services of Public Security was appropriate.

Strategic Affairs is, in broadest terms, responsible for coordinating security, intelligence and diplomatic initiatives regarding strategic threats.

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Erdan should have a place in the (inner) Security Cabinet now, as I understand it because of his involvement with Strategic Affairs – which is critical.

Additionally, Erdan may be given the Ministry of Communications (a position he has held before).  As I noted last time, Netanyahu had retained that position for himself.  I am not clear as to where this leaves Ofir Akunis, who had been assigned a place in the Ministry of Communications as a Minister-without-Portfolio. (I had read that as being a de facto Minister of Communication position, but now?)

Reports are that – because of the limit on the number of ministers who can be appointed - Benny Begin will have to resign his position as Minister-without-Portfolio.

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And there is yet one more piece of news regarding the government: Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs, will be taking a leave of absence from that position in order to serve as Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Dr. Dore Gold – a long time advisor to Netanyahu and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN - is a good man. ~~~~~~~~~~

A ministry routinely has a director-general, who oversees the operation, in addition to the minister him or herself.  Gold, it must be said, is a notably well-known personage to fill that role.  There are ways in which this may be good, because he has considerable prestige and depth of strategic understanding.  But I see something else happening as well: Tzipi Hotovely is Deputy Foreign Minister, and, as Netanyahu is retaining that ministry for himself, there are ways in which it might have been said that she was de facto Foreign Minister.  We’ve already seen, however, that certain responsibilities that might have been hers were assigned to others.

What I suspect here is that the presence of Gold in the Ministry may further undercut her autonomy and latitude to function.  This has to be watched.  What is certainly the case is that Gold will provide reports to the prime minister on what is happening vis-à-vis Hotovely.

~~~~~~~~~~

What I close with here, is a marvelous statement last week by Hotovely – for Israeli diplomats and Foreign Ministry staff  - that has caused more than a bit of nervousness in certain government quarters, even as it has brought a smile to the faces of some of us (emphasis added):

“The international community deals with considerations of justice and morality. We need to return to the basic truth of our right to this land.”Hotovely then quoted the late journalist Uri Elitzur, who said that for the last 40 years, while the Palestinians were demanding “their” lands, Israel’s has been that: “We have strategic interests and security concerns.”Those arguments, she said, are the arguments of a robber.“If I wear your coat because I’m cold, and I can prove pragmatically and analytically that it really is cold for me, the world will ask a primitive and analytic question: Who does the coat belong to? In this context, it is important to say that this coat is ours, this country is ours, all of it. We didn’t come here to apologize for that.”Hotovely said the world understands Israel’s security needs, but arguments based on justice and morality always trump those dealing with security concerns.http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Hotovely-This-country-belongs-to-us-all-of-it-403819

Bravo to Deputy Minister Hotovely.  That took courage when the prime minister says we must keep the land for security reasons.

~~~~~~~~~~© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner, functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.  

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Technorati Tag: Israel and Netanyahu.

Patinásabb és zsengébb demokráciák egyre népesebb csoportjában uralkodik el az egyszerű választón a krónikus urnaundor. Hiába na, a néhai Béketábor részvételi arányait nehéz a mai gyatra mozgósítási eszközökkel megismételni! Azért van, ahol próbálkoznak. Egyes országokban rájöttek, mennyire improduk...

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In this section you will find footage of the meetings of Donald TUSK, President of the European Council.

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VÁRPALOTA. Római kori temetőt tártak fel Inotánál, a sírhelyre a leletek tanúsága szerint több száz évig temetkeztek az előkelőségek – tájékoztatta az MTI-t az ásatást vezető régész.

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