Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumWith eye on US’ Asia pivot, Russia surges in Far East
The great German statesman Otto von Bismarck once said, Political judgement is the ability to hear the distant hoof-beats of the horse of history. The Kremlins decision to establish a military base on the disputed Kurile Islands in North-east Asia must be counted as a matter of political judgement. Moscow intends to write history with the hope that history will, thereupon, be kind to it.
Nonetheless, it has been a low-key announcement, made inter alia by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during a routine meeting of his ministrys board in Moscow on Friday. Perhaps, it cannot even be regarded as an announcement.
Shoigu simply disclosed that a team from the Russian Pacific Fleet is being dispatched to the disputed islands on a 3-month mission to determine the feasibility of building a naval base at a suitable location somewhere on the Greater Kurile Ridge.
Shoigu also slipped in a vital bit of information that Bal and Bastion shore-to-ship missiles and Eleron-3 drones will be deployed on the islands before the end of this year. These are of course formidable state-of-the-art Russian missile systems with the capability to protect naval bases and other strategic installations on the coast, defend coastline in probable landing approach areas and to establish control over strait zone and territorial waters in areas of high-risk assaults as well as for gaining overall dominance over the sea. Both have a range of up to 300 kilometers.
http://atimes.com/2016/03/with-eye-on-us-asia-pivot-russia-surges-in-far-east/
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)The SOC, BRICS... what next?
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Best sentence in it. Bhadrakumar does tend to gush a bit now and then, but he has the way of nailing things too.
Russia and China are a lot friendlier than they might be because of our good efforts. Yes.
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)Somehow I have completely missed that.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)It was sort of like with the Syrian situation starting to solidify and look like it might not get worse, there was a desire to start something somewhere else, sort of have it ready for later or something. It is very strange the way that situation has developed. But I haven't paid that much attention to it yet. N. Koreas antics seem to part of it.
I don't really see what we are trying to accomplish there.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)SEOUL, March 28 (UPI) -- North Korea began a fresh round of nuclear provocations after the United States turned down an offer of peace talks, a Russian diplomat said.
The source, who was not unidentified, told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that North Korea had hoped to restart a dialogue with Washington.
North Korea's optimism was dashed when the United States rejected the offer, according to the source.
"At present, North Korea is seeking talks with the United States, but the goal is not being realized," the source said.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/03/28/North-Korea-began-nuke-tests-after-US-rejection-Russian-diplomat-says/1081459170798/
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)BEIJING (AFP) - China has appointed its first special envoy to Syria, its foreign ministry said Tuesday (March 29), as the Asian nation seeks to increase its diplomatic footprint in the Middle East.
China depends on the volatile region for its oil supplies but has long taken a back seat in its disputes, only recently beginning to expand its role.
In recent months, Beijing has hosted high-level delegations from both the Syrian government and the opposition.
It consistently says the crisis needs a "political solution" but has four times vetoed UN Security Council measures aimed at addressing the conflict - the latest seeking the investigation of war crimes in the country.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-appoints-special-envoy-to-syria
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)There was some talk in the wind about China sending military support
to the Syrian arena to work with Russia. Was unable to verify such.
There is talk of BRICS working with Syria to rebuild.
And now Russia offers the peace pipe to Turkey... very interesting.
That act of diplomacy surely gains good will while costing Putin nothing.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Moral support only from those guys. BRICS have their own issues, Chinese want to do business, not go to war.
No idea what Erdogan will do next, watching him thrash around would be entertaining if it was unimportant.
The Chinese, however, have been diplomatically quite supportive of Russia-Iran-Syria without getting too chummy, and not wanting to piss of anybody else off either. Or that's how it looks to me.
Costs nothing, exactly. There is a cliche attributed to Churchill to the effect that if you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite. My observation has been that Putin likes to rub it in at times (see: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160329/1037135853/syria-russia-bouthaina-shaaban.html and http://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-says-us-has-not-thanked-russia-liberating-palmyra-441653?piano_t=1), so it is good to see he can forgo that at times.
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)Putin chuckled in his morning coffee when he thought of that.