US, Philippines Discuss Increasing Military Ties

January 27, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Two decades after American forces were evicted from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines may ask the United States back to counter China’s growing military power. The United States and the Philippines are in talks to increase the American military presence in Southeast Asia.

According to a report in The Washington Post newspaper, the Philippines has indicated a willingness to host American ships, surveillance aircraft and joint military exercises.

The U.S. was forced to leave its naval base in the Philippines Subic Bay in the 1990s after lawmakers rejected a new treaty.  But Carl Thayer, Southeast Asia analyst with the University of New South Wales says the Philippines’ leadership is now reaching out to the U.S. to counter China’s growing military power and continued confrontational incidents between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Diplomatic Ties, Foreign Policy ·

Hague: ‘No Plan’ For Military Action In Iran

January 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The UK is “not planning” to take military action in Iran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has told MPs.

Mr Hague was answering an urgent question on 24 January 2012, tabled by Conservative Robert Halfon, who wanted to know what action was being taken against the country over its nuclear ambitions.

On Monday, the European Union agreed sanctions banning all new oil contracts with Iran and freezing the assets of Iran’s central bank in the EU.

The foreign secretary said the EU’s “unprecedented” measures would put pressure on Iran to enter talks about its uranium enrichment programme. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, People ·

UK Could Send Military Assets To Strait Of Hormuz

January 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Britain could send extra military assets to the Strait of Hormuz to deter any attempt by Iran to block Persian Gulf oil tanker traffic, the country’s defense secretary said Tuesday, as Tehran accused the European Union of trying to create tension with a ban on the purchase of its oil.

Two British and French warships and the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had entered the Gulf on Sunday to show Tehran they would not tolerate any interference with global shipping, Philip Hammond told reporters.

Iranian leaders have repeated long-standing threats to close off the Strait, which handles a fifth of the world’s oil, after the EU imposed the embargo Monday as part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on the country’s controversial nuclear program. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Foreign Policy, Industry ·

Mutineers’ Barren Refuge Turns Tourist Paradise

January 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

It’s bare of white sandy beaches and about as far away as you can get from anywhere – but that hasn’t stopped super-remote Pitcairn Island from marketing itself as a holiday paradise in a newly embraced tourism push.

Today, about 50 residents on the lonely island in the South Pacific are celebrating Bounty Day – or the 222nd anniversary of the burning of HMS Bounty – along with a handful of visitors who were drawn in for the festivities.

Islanders hope the official holiday, marked with boat races and the annual burning of a miniature replica of the Bounty, will become an annual tourist-puller as they look to holidaymakers as a way to bolster a flagging economy. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Environment, Nature, Tourism ·

Obama Orders Streamlining Of Foreign Tourist Visas

January 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the streamlining of applications for foreign tourist visas to the United States, focused on increasingly affluent Chinese and Brazilian visitors, in an effort to boost tourism and create jobs.

Obama announced the modest package of reforms at the Disney World theme park in Florida, a state whose economy is heavily dependent on the tourist industry.

The state, closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, will be a crucial battleground in November, when Obama faces a re-election vote that may hinge on Americans’ perceptions of his handling of the economy. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Foreign Policy, Tourism ·

US, Filipino Forces Plan Drills Near Disputed Area

January 21, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

U.S. and Philippine marines plan to hold combat drills at an oil rig in the South China Sea to bolster the defense of such sensitive facilities in a bold move that may provoke protests from China, which claims waters in or near the location.

Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the Philippine military’s Western Command, said Thursday the exercises will be held in March or April off western Palawan province and should not alarm China because these will be done within Philippine territorial waters.

The drills involve U.S. Marines training their Philippine counterparts in defending and retaking oil and gas rigs captured by security threats like terrorists, Sabban said, adding military organizers from both sides did not contemplate on China as an imaginary target when they planned the drills. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, People, Policy ·

How China Is Advancing Its Military Reach

January 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

As the US shifts its focus to Asia, Alexander Neill, head of the Asia Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, sets out the Chinese military advances challenging the regional balance.

At the Pentagon recently, US President Barack Obama announced deep cuts to the US military and set out a shift in attention towards the Asia-Pacific region, in a thinly-veiled message to China.

Despite a narrative of peaceful intent, China’s leaders have struggled to reassure the US over the direction of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Both countries admit that their military dialogue falls well behind other aspects of the relationship. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreign Policy, People, Technologies ·