China has already proposed to extend the Chengdu-Lhasa railway all the way to Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. Reports have meanwhile indicated that China’s Tibet region now possesses a good military road network running parallel to the Indo-Tibet border. #msg-6086108
-Am
China dispatches military equipment to Kathmandu
DPA , KATHMANDU Saturday, Jun 18, 2005,Page 1
China has delivered "some military equipment" to Nepal at a time when Western countries and India have stopped supplying arms in order to put political pressure on the Himalayan kingdom, a Nepalese newspaper report said yesterday. The English-language daily Himalayan Times, quoting sources at Kathmandu Airport, said that the equipment was delivered to Nepal on Thursday morning.
The equipment was brought in a cargo aircraft from China, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper did not specify the kind of military equipment but said that five armored personnel carriers were included.
According to the newspaper, the personnel carriers were bought by Nepal "some time back."
The vehicles, manufactured in China, were first unveiled in October 1984. Western documents occasionally refer to the model as the M-1984, according to the paper.
The vehicle has a two-man crew and can carry 10 infantry soldiers and is amphibious.
A Nepalese army spokesman said that he had "no comments" on the matter.
Western countries and India suspended military assistance to Nepal following King Gyanendra's takeover on Feb. 1, triggering speculation that Kathmandu would buy arms from other sources, including China.
North Korea says US must scrap nuclear weapons first
North Korea has a point, considering...
In the first step toward erecting a multibillion-dollar shield to protect the United States from foreign missiles, the U.S. Navy will begin deploying state-of-the-art destroyers to patrol the waters off North Korea as early as next week.
The mission, to be conducted in the Sea of Japan by ships assigned to the Navy's 7th Fleet, will help lay the foundation for a system to detect and intercept ballistic missiles launched by "rogue nations." - Sep. 25, 2004 #msg-4129889
Besides the recent decision to re-deploy the 1st Corps, the US is busily building up Guam as a "power projection hub", with, in the words of Pacific Commander Admiral William Fargo, "geostrategic importance". The US is also trying to shift Guam-based bombers to Yokota airbase near Tokyo. Christopher Hughes of Warwick University, an expert on the region, told the (British) Guardian, "The ramifications of this would be that Japan would essentially serve as a frontline US command post for the Asia-Pacific and beyond."
A number of Bush administration sounding boards, such as neo-conservative Charles Krauthammer, have openly advocated Japan going nuclear as a way to offset the growing influence and power of China. Acquiring nuclear weapons would be relatively easy for Japan, which has plenty of fuel to reprocess, as well as missiles and satellite targeting systems. #msg-6547899
Taiwan intends to build "nuclear test ground" or "missile base". #msg-4682068
-Am
North Korea says US must scrap nuclear weapons first
SEOUL (AFP) Jun 23, 2005 North Korea said Thursday it would scrap its nuclear weapons only if the United States removed the nuclear threat to the Korean peninsual as a first step.
"If the Korean Peninsula is to be turned into a nuclear-free zone, a peace zone, the US nuclear threat to the DPRK (Noth Korea) must be eliminated, first of all," the North's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said.
"The prerequisite to the denuclearization is for the United States to discard its nuclear threat to the DPRK (North Korea) and switch over to peaceful coexistence."
Three months ago North Korea delcared itself a "fully-fledged" nuclear state and said that six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons drive were no longer valid and should be replaced by disarmament talks.
The North Korean newspaper accused the United States of misleading public opinion by creating the impression that the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula meant North Korea immediately scrapping its nuclear program first.
"This is a quite ironical argument that can convince no one," it said, adding North Korea's consistent stand was to see an end to the US nuclear threat and realize a nuclear-free peninsula.
"There will be no change in its principled stand in the future, too," it said.
The commentary came a day after Pyongyang's top delegate to inter-Korean talks, Kwon Ho-Ung, said the country's ultimate goal was a nuclear-free peninsula and it would have no use for nuclear weapons if Washington was friendly.
North Korea's founding father Kim Il-Sung died in 1994, two years after an inter-Korean accord on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula came into effect.
Similar remarks were made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il last week at talks with South Korean unification minister Chung Dong-Young in Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-Il also said his country could return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks as early as July if the United States "acknowledge and respect" Pyongyang as a dialogue partner.
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