Obama Meeting Putin At The G20 Summit Will Likely Be A Tense, International Showdown

[FarCenter]

Putin, in an interview published on Wednesday, said it was too early to talk about what Russia would do if the US attacked Syria but added: "We have our ideas about what we will do and how we will do it in case the situation develops toward the use of force or otherwise. We have our plans."

He then said Russia might restart Syria's suspended S-300 air defence missile contract. Describing the weapon as "very efficient", he said: "If we see that steps are taken that violate the existing international norms, we shall think how we should act in the future, in particular regarding supplies of such sensitive weapons to certain regions of the world."

The statement could also be a veiled threat to revive a contract for the delivery of the S-300s to Iran, which Russia cancelled a few years ago under strong US and Israeli pressure.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-putin-g20-summit-2013-9

An interesting counter would be for Russia to sell the even more capable S-400 to any and every nation that wants one. After all it is a defensive weapon, so we couldn't really complain too much.

Time Running Out for Taiwan if Russia Releases S-400 SAM

Taiwan faces tough choices over future defense decisions as China’s air defense network continues to grow beyond its shores.

At present, China’s land-based mobile air defense missile systems, HQ-9 and S-300, can reach only a small sliver of northwestern Taiwan. Though a clear advantage during a war over control of the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, it is not complete air dominance of the island itself.

However, with the planned purchase of the 400-kilometer-range Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, China will for the first time have complete air defense coverage of Taiwan.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130525/DEFREG/305270012/Time-Running-Out-Taiwan-Russia-Releases-S-400-SAM

[PoliticAverse]

1. Taiwan's defense is the United States. n/t

[FarCenter]

2. There is actually little possibility of hostilities between China and Taiwan

The volume of business is growing to the point where there will be a gradual merger of the two. Maybe not for another two or three decades, but that is definitely the direction.