South China Sea: Pressure mounting on China and Southeast Asia to agree a code of conduct
February 25, 2014
.
HONG KONG/MANILA (Reuters) – Pressure is mounting on China and
Southeast Asia to agree a code of conduct to keep the peace in the
disputed South China Sea, but Beijing is warning of a long road ahead.
Only last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work out rules to ease tensions after a fresh Chinese campaign of assertiveness in the region.
“The longer the process takes, the longer tensions will simmer and the greater the chance of a miscalculation by somebody that could trigger a conflict,” Kerry said in Indonesia during a visit to Asia.
ASEAN officials told Reuters that a working group of officials from China and the 10-member association would resume negotiations in Singapore on March 18 after agreeing to accelerate talks last year that have made little headway so far.
The code of conduct is intended to bind China and ASEAN to detailed rules of behaviour at sea – all geared to managing tensions long-term while broader territorial disputes are resolved. It stems from a landmark 2002 declaration between ASEAN and China, then hailed as the first significant agreement between the grouping and an outside power.
Graphic: China’s territorial claims – link.reuters.com/kyb86v
Much is at stake.
China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, displaying its reach on official maps with a so-called nine-dash line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea, which sits above potentially rich but largely unexplored oil and gas deposits.
The South China Sea carries an estimated $5 trillion in ship-borne trade annually – including oil imports by China, Japan and South Korea.
Kerry also raised the issue in Beijing, where Chinese officials generally bristle at Washington’s growing involvement in China’s territorial disputes. China wanted to try to reach a deal, Kerry said.
In the meantime, Kerry said it was vital for countries to refrain from “coercive or unilateral measures” to assert their claims – an apparent reference to a string of recent moves by China, from expanded naval patrols to new fishing restrictions, that continue to rattle a nervous region.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing was sincere about pushing for a code of conduct.
“The burden is heavy and the road is long for talks on the code of conduct,” it said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario last week said ASEAN was seeking “an expeditious conclusion” to talks.
PLAYING FOR TIME
Many regional officials and military officers have long feared Beijing wanted to “play for time” – wary of being tied down and preferring instead to buttress its controversial claims while pressuring weaker neighbours into separate talks over specific disputes.
An earlier unofficial draft code of conduct drawn up by Indonesia outlines an agreement that ties the region to refraining from even routine military exercises in disputed waters and settling disputes according to the U.N. Law of the Sea or little-used ASEAN procedures.
China has objected to efforts by Manila to challenge its claims under the Law of the Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
The Indonesian draft, seen by Reuters, also provides for full freedom of navigation and overflight while setting detailed rules for preventing accidents at sea. The occupation of previously unoccupied features at sea is outlawed.
The document has yet to be formally tabled but has circulated within ASEAN for more than a year as a possible basis for discussions, ASEAN diplomats said.
China was reluctant to be presented with a “pre-cooked” draft, said Termsak Chalermpalanupap, a political analyst at Singapore’s Institute of South East Asian Studies and a former staffer at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta.
Many ambiguities remained about China’s position, Termsak added.
“We still have to find out if they really want a legally binding code,” he said.
ASEAN leaders want a code with teeth given the inadequacies of the 2002 declaration in preventing rising tensions, he said.
Beijing is expected to seek to thwart any push to include the Paracel islands – a strategic archipelago south of Hainan Island that is occupied by China but also claimed by Vietnam, in any final deal.
Any Chinese attempt to create an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea – something Washington has warned against – is widely expected by regional analysts and diplomats to include the Paracels.
Beijing has denied reports it has plans for a zone in the South China Sea. Its announcement in November of such a boundary in the East China Sea, where aircraft have to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, drew condemnation from Washington.
Carl Thayer, a South China Sea expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, said he had noticed a cautious optimism surrounding the prospect of fresh talks.
“The atmospherics have definitely improved but I do fear we are still talking about an effort that is going to be protracted if not interminable,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING. Editing by Dean Yates)
Related:
WSJ: China’s Navy Raising Eyebrows
South China Sea: China Drives Out Filipino Fishermen Using a Water Cannon
China’s Strategy For The “Vast Ocean Domain” — Destroy America’s Ability To Intervene
Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet Visits Manila
Top Military Officer in the Philippines Calls China’s Sea Claims “Absolute Nonsense”
China Prepares For War To Quickly Crush Japan in East China Sea — U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer Says
Australia to South China Sea claimants: Resolve dispute peacefully
Philippines Ready To Buy FA-50 Fighter Jets from South Korea
South China Sea: Australia Supports Code of Conduct, Stands With the Philippines
India Warned Not To Participate In South China Sea Oil Projects With Vietnam
Chinese navy ship launching missiles during training
Filipino fishermen wave from a fishing boat bound to fish near Scarborough Shoal in Masinloc, Zambales May 10. Masinloc is the nearest land, about 128 nautical miles away from the Scarborough Shoal, which is the center of the territorial and se dispute between China and the Philippines. Erik De Castro/REUTERS
Fishing vessels of all shapes and sizes and all nationalities have been catching fish in the international waters of the South China Sea and East China Sea for centuries. Now China says everyone needs the permission of the Communist government of the People’s Republic of China to fish these waters.
Most of the fishing boats in the East China Sea and South China Sea aren’t very intimidating but some are very modern when owned by corporations or the wealthiest fishing families.
Photo: Chinese marine surveillance officers stop and search fishermen in international waters in the South China sea — a clear violation of international law.
Above: China says it has sovereignty over all inside the “Nine Dash Line” as seen here.
China has claimed much of the South China Sea for itself — claims that have upset many in the region, especially Vietnam and the Philippines. A huge wealth of untapped oil is believed to be below the sea here.
The chart below shows the area declared by China on 1 January 2014 as “an area under China’s jurisdiction.” China says “foreign fishing vessels” can only enter and work in this area with prior approval from China. Vietnam, the Philippines and others have said they will not comply with China’s law.
File photo of Chinese surveillance ships off Scarborough Shoal, in a
picture handed out by the Philippines Dept of Foreign Affairs.
(AFP/Dfa/Pn)
Only last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work out rules to ease tensions after a fresh Chinese campaign of assertiveness in the region.
“The longer the process takes, the longer tensions will simmer and the greater the chance of a miscalculation by somebody that could trigger a conflict,” Kerry said in Indonesia during a visit to Asia.
ASEAN officials told Reuters that a working group of officials from China and the 10-member association would resume negotiations in Singapore on March 18 after agreeing to accelerate talks last year that have made little headway so far.
The code of conduct is intended to bind China and ASEAN to detailed rules of behaviour at sea – all geared to managing tensions long-term while broader territorial disputes are resolved. It stems from a landmark 2002 declaration between ASEAN and China, then hailed as the first significant agreement between the grouping and an outside power.
Graphic: China’s territorial claims – link.reuters.com/kyb86v
Much is at stake.
China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, displaying its reach on official maps with a so-called nine-dash line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea, which sits above potentially rich but largely unexplored oil and gas deposits.
The South China Sea carries an estimated $5 trillion in ship-borne trade annually – including oil imports by China, Japan and South Korea.
Kerry also raised the issue in Beijing, where Chinese officials generally bristle at Washington’s growing involvement in China’s territorial disputes. China wanted to try to reach a deal, Kerry said.
In the meantime, Kerry said it was vital for countries to refrain from “coercive or unilateral measures” to assert their claims – an apparent reference to a string of recent moves by China, from expanded naval patrols to new fishing restrictions, that continue to rattle a nervous region.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing was sincere about pushing for a code of conduct.
“The burden is heavy and the road is long for talks on the code of conduct,” it said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario last week said ASEAN was seeking “an expeditious conclusion” to talks.
PLAYING FOR TIME
Many regional officials and military officers have long feared Beijing wanted to “play for time” – wary of being tied down and preferring instead to buttress its controversial claims while pressuring weaker neighbours into separate talks over specific disputes.
An earlier unofficial draft code of conduct drawn up by Indonesia outlines an agreement that ties the region to refraining from even routine military exercises in disputed waters and settling disputes according to the U.N. Law of the Sea or little-used ASEAN procedures.
China has objected to efforts by Manila to challenge its claims under the Law of the Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
The Indonesian draft, seen by Reuters, also provides for full freedom of navigation and overflight while setting detailed rules for preventing accidents at sea. The occupation of previously unoccupied features at sea is outlawed.
The document has yet to be formally tabled but has circulated within ASEAN for more than a year as a possible basis for discussions, ASEAN diplomats said.
China was reluctant to be presented with a “pre-cooked” draft, said Termsak Chalermpalanupap, a political analyst at Singapore’s Institute of South East Asian Studies and a former staffer at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta.
Many ambiguities remained about China’s position, Termsak added.
“We still have to find out if they really want a legally binding code,” he said.
ASEAN leaders want a code with teeth given the inadequacies of the 2002 declaration in preventing rising tensions, he said.
Beijing is expected to seek to thwart any push to include the Paracel islands – a strategic archipelago south of Hainan Island that is occupied by China but also claimed by Vietnam, in any final deal.
Any Chinese attempt to create an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea – something Washington has warned against – is widely expected by regional analysts and diplomats to include the Paracels.
Beijing has denied reports it has plans for a zone in the South China Sea. Its announcement in November of such a boundary in the East China Sea, where aircraft have to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, drew condemnation from Washington.
Carl Thayer, a South China Sea expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, said he had noticed a cautious optimism surrounding the prospect of fresh talks.
“The atmospherics have definitely improved but I do fear we are still talking about an effort that is going to be protracted if not interminable,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING. Editing by Dean Yates)
Related:
WSJ: China’s Navy Raising Eyebrows
South China Sea: China Drives Out Filipino Fishermen Using a Water Cannon
China’s Strategy For The “Vast Ocean Domain” — Destroy America’s Ability To Intervene
Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet Visits Manila
Top Military Officer in the Philippines Calls China’s Sea Claims “Absolute Nonsense”
China Prepares For War To Quickly Crush Japan in East China Sea — U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer Says
Australia to South China Sea claimants: Resolve dispute peacefully
Philippines Ready To Buy FA-50 Fighter Jets from South Korea
South China Sea: Australia Supports Code of Conduct, Stands With the Philippines
India Warned Not To Participate In South China Sea Oil Projects With Vietnam
Chinese navy ship launching missiles during training
Filipino fishermen wave from a fishing boat bound to fish near Scarborough Shoal in Masinloc, Zambales May 10. Masinloc is the nearest land, about 128 nautical miles away from the Scarborough Shoal, which is the center of the territorial and se dispute between China and the Philippines. Erik De Castro/REUTERS
Fishing vessels of all shapes and sizes and all nationalities have been catching fish in the international waters of the South China Sea and East China Sea for centuries. Now China says everyone needs the permission of the Communist government of the People’s Republic of China to fish these waters.
Most of the fishing boats in the East China Sea and South China Sea aren’t very intimidating but some are very modern when owned by corporations or the wealthiest fishing families.
Photo: Chinese marine surveillance officers stop and search fishermen in international waters in the South China sea — a clear violation of international law.
Above: China says it has sovereignty over all inside the “Nine Dash Line” as seen here.
China has claimed much of the South China Sea for itself — claims that have upset many in the region, especially Vietnam and the Philippines. A huge wealth of untapped oil is believed to be below the sea here.
The chart below shows the area declared by China on 1 January 2014 as “an area under China’s jurisdiction.” China says “foreign fishing vessels” can only enter and work in this area with prior approval from China. Vietnam, the Philippines and others have said they will not comply with China’s law.
Japan’s Government will consider revising an apology for its wartime system of sex slavery and “comfort women”
February 25, 2014
AFP
Evidence given by “comfort women”—a euphemism for those forced to work in military brothels—that forms the basis of the 1993 Kono Statement, is to be re-examined, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday.
The move is the latest in a series of statements and gaffes from senior officials around Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that are being interpreted as questioning accepted wisdom on Japan’s brutal wartime behavior in East Asia.
These have included the assertion by a member of NHK’s board of governors, a man appointed by Abe, that the 1937 “Rape of Nanking”, when Japanese forces committed mass rape and murder following the capture of the city, had been fabricated for propaganda purposes. No mainstream historian holds this view.
“The testimonies of comfort women were taken on the premise of their being closed-door sessions. The government will consider whether there can be a revision while preserving” the confidence in which they were given, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
Suga’s comment came after a weekend opinion poll, jointly conducted by the nationalistic Sankei Shimbun daily and Fuji TV, in which 59% of respondents said the apology should be revised.
The issue was inflamed when Katsuto Momii, the new head of Japan’s national broadcaster NHK, said sex slavery was common in many militaries and was only wrong when judged against modern morality.
Respected historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, were forced to serve as sex slaves in Japanese army brothels.
However, a minority of right-wing Japanese insist there was no official involvement by the state or the military and say the women were common prostitutes.
In 1993, after hearing testimony from 16 Korean women, a statement issued in the name of then-chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono acknowledged official complicity in the coercion of women into sex slavery.
It offered “sincere apologies and remorse” to the women and vowed to face the historical facts squarely.
But repeated wavering on the issue among senior right-wing politicians has contributed to a feeling in South Korea that Japan is in denial and is not sufficiently remorseful.
Last week, Suga told parliament that the government “would like to consider” setting up a verification team with academics who would look again at the 16 women’s accounts.
On the same day, Nobuo Ishihara, former deputy chief cabinet secretary who played a key role in working out the Kono statement, told parliament that Japan had conducted no checks on the former comfort women’s accounts to verify their stories.
“There were no materials that directly substantiate forcible recruitments by the Japanese government or by the military, but considering their testimonies we could not deny there was that sort of conduct among recruiters,” he said, adding it could not be denied either that the authorities were linked to the recruiters.
Ishihara said the 1993 statement was meant to settle the bitter past and encourage a more forward-looking relationship with South Korea.
“It is very regrettable that the goodwill of the Japanese government has done no good”, he said, reflecting a frustration felt by many in Japan who feel that the sex slavery issue will always be a stick that Seoul can use to beat it.
While Abe himself has trodden carefully on the issue since coming to power in December 2012, he triggered uproar during his first stint as prime minister in 2007 when he said there was no evidence Japan directly coerced comfort women.
He later elaborated by saying he was talking of coercion in the “strict” sense, such as kidnapping women.
China last week cautioned against any bid to revisit the apology for what it called “Japanese militarism’s heinous anti-humanity crime.”
“Any attempt by Japan to negate the crime and overturn the verdict on its history of aggression will meet with vehement opposition from victimised people and the international community,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
“We solemnly urge Japan to face up to and express deep remorse for its past aggression, responsibly and appropriately deal with issues left over from history.”
TOKYO —
The Japanese government will consider revising an apology for its
wartime system of sex slavery, a top official said Monday, a move that
will draw fury in South Korea and beyond if the historic statement is
watered down.Evidence given by “comfort women”—a euphemism for those forced to work in military brothels—that forms the basis of the 1993 Kono Statement, is to be re-examined, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday.
The move is the latest in a series of statements and gaffes from senior officials around Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that are being interpreted as questioning accepted wisdom on Japan’s brutal wartime behavior in East Asia.
These have included the assertion by a member of NHK’s board of governors, a man appointed by Abe, that the 1937 “Rape of Nanking”, when Japanese forces committed mass rape and murder following the capture of the city, had been fabricated for propaganda purposes. No mainstream historian holds this view.
“The testimonies of comfort women were taken on the premise of their being closed-door sessions. The government will consider whether there can be a revision while preserving” the confidence in which they were given, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
Suga’s comment came after a weekend opinion poll, jointly conducted by the nationalistic Sankei Shimbun daily and Fuji TV, in which 59% of respondents said the apology should be revised.
The issue was inflamed when Katsuto Momii, the new head of Japan’s national broadcaster NHK, said sex slavery was common in many militaries and was only wrong when judged against modern morality.
Respected historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, were forced to serve as sex slaves in Japanese army brothels.
However, a minority of right-wing Japanese insist there was no official involvement by the state or the military and say the women were common prostitutes.
In 1993, after hearing testimony from 16 Korean women, a statement issued in the name of then-chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono acknowledged official complicity in the coercion of women into sex slavery.
It offered “sincere apologies and remorse” to the women and vowed to face the historical facts squarely.
But repeated wavering on the issue among senior right-wing politicians has contributed to a feeling in South Korea that Japan is in denial and is not sufficiently remorseful.
Last week, Suga told parliament that the government “would like to consider” setting up a verification team with academics who would look again at the 16 women’s accounts.
On the same day, Nobuo Ishihara, former deputy chief cabinet secretary who played a key role in working out the Kono statement, told parliament that Japan had conducted no checks on the former comfort women’s accounts to verify their stories.
“There were no materials that directly substantiate forcible recruitments by the Japanese government or by the military, but considering their testimonies we could not deny there was that sort of conduct among recruiters,” he said, adding it could not be denied either that the authorities were linked to the recruiters.
Ishihara said the 1993 statement was meant to settle the bitter past and encourage a more forward-looking relationship with South Korea.
“It is very regrettable that the goodwill of the Japanese government has done no good”, he said, reflecting a frustration felt by many in Japan who feel that the sex slavery issue will always be a stick that Seoul can use to beat it.
While Abe himself has trodden carefully on the issue since coming to power in December 2012, he triggered uproar during his first stint as prime minister in 2007 when he said there was no evidence Japan directly coerced comfort women.
He later elaborated by saying he was talking of coercion in the “strict” sense, such as kidnapping women.
China last week cautioned against any bid to revisit the apology for what it called “Japanese militarism’s heinous anti-humanity crime.”
“Any attempt by Japan to negate the crime and overturn the verdict on its history of aggression will meet with vehement opposition from victimised people and the international community,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
“We solemnly urge Japan to face up to and express deep remorse for its past aggression, responsibly and appropriately deal with issues left over from history.”
More Explosions, Gunfire, At Thailand’s Anti-Government Protests
February 25, 2014
By Pairat Temphairojana
Anti-government protesters gather outside a business building owned by SC Asset Corp during a rally in Bangkok February 20, 2014. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
BANGKOK (Reuters) – An explosion
and gunfire rang out near a sprawling anti-government protest site in
the Thai capital early on Tuesday after the protesters’ leader warned
that government supporters were planning to bring armed militants to
Bangkok.
Weeks of unrest, in which
protesters have barricaded key intersections of the city, have been
interrupted by occasional bombs and gunfire, with one blast killing a
woman and a young brother and sister in a central shopping district on
Sunday.
There was another explosion and gunfire near one protest site on the
edge of Bangkok’s Lumpini Park in the early hours, national security
chief Paradorn Pattanathabutr told Reuters.
Two men were wounded, medical sources said.
“Last night, we don’t know where
and who it came from, but there was an explosion and gunfire sound from 1
a.m.,” Paradorn said. “Officials will investigate the area this morning
and there should be more information soon.”
He also said there was an explosion near the office of the opposition Democrat Party. No one was hurt.
The protesters, who disrupted a
general election this month leaving the country in political limbo, aim
to unseat caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and erase the
influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, seen by
many as the power behind the government.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban
accused Jatuporn Promphan, a leader of the “red shirt” supporters of
Thaksin, of wanting to bring armed militants to Bangkok from their power
base in the mainly rural north and northeast, setting the stage for
potential conflict.
He also accused police of doing nothing about it.
“It is clear that Jatuporn wants to divide the country in two,” he told supporters late on Monday.
Anti-government protesters are brought by trucks to the foreign ministry compound in Bangkok Februar …
Yingluck called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.
“It’s time all sides turned to
talk to each other,” she told reporters on Monday. “Many people have
asked me to resign but I ask: Is resignation the answer? What if it
creates a power vacuum?”
In a measure of the economic impact of the crisis, flag carrier Thai
Airways International releases its 2013 earnings on Tuesday. It is
expected to report a huge loss and may cite a slump in tourism since
late last year as a factor.Trade figures for January could also show the biggest fall in imports since the global financial crisis as consumption, construction and other activities weaken.
At least 20 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded since the protests began in November.
They are the biggest since deadly
political unrest in 2010, when Thaksin’s red shirts paralyzed Bangkok.
More than 90 people were killed and 2,000 wounded during that unrest,
which ended when Suthep, then a deputy premier, sent in troops.
Demonstrators accuse Thaksin of
nepotism and corruption and say that, prior to being ousted by the army
in 2006, he used taxpayers’ money for populist subsidies and easy loans
that bought him the loyalty of millions.
(Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Alan Raybould and Paul Tait)
Related:Thailand: The country risks “collapse” unless it pulls back from escalating violence, army chief warns
.
Soldiers inspect the site of bomb blast near an anti-government
rally in Bangkok on February 23, 2014 (AFP Photo/Pornchai
Kittiwongsakul)
Prayer and Meditation for Tuesday, February 25, 2014 — “Whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
February 24, 2014
Tuesday of the Seventh week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 342
Reading 1 jas 4:1-10
.
Beloved: Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you
come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your
members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot
obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not
ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on
your passions. Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the
world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of
the world makes himself an enemy of God.
.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says, The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy? But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
So submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from
you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,
you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament,
to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your
joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt
you.
.
Responsorial Psalm ps 55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23
.
R. (23a) Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
And I say, “Had I but wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at
rest. Far away I would flee; I would lodge in the wilderness.” R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you. “I would wait for him who saves me from the violent storm and the tempest.” Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels. R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you. In the city I see violence and strife, day and night they prowl about upon its walls. R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you. Cast your care upon the LORD, and he will support you; never will he permit the just man to be disturbed. R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
.
Gospel mk 9:30-37
.
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through
Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching
his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to
men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of
Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were
afraid to question him.
.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
.
***********************************
.
Lectio Divina from the Carmelites
.
Reflection.Today’s Gospel narrates the second announcement of the
Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Like in the first announcement
(Mk 8, 27-38), the disciples were terrified and they are afraid. They
do not understand the words about the cross, because they are not
capable to understand or to accept a Messiah who becomes the servant of
the brothers. They continue to dream in a glorious Messiah and
besides that, they show a great incoherence. When Jesus announces his
Passion and Death, they discuss who among them will be the greatest.
Jesus wants to serve, they only think in commanding! Ambition leads them
to promote themselves at the cost of Jesus. Up until the present time,
this same desire of self promotion exists in our communities..
In the time of Jesus as well as in that of Mark, there was the
“yeast” of a dominating ideology. Today also, the ideology of the
propaganda of business, of consumerism, of the television novels,
influence profoundly the way of thinking and of acting of people. At the
time of Mark, the communities were not always capable to maintain a
critical attitude before the invasion of the ideology of the Roman
Empire. And today?
.
Mark 9, 30-32: The announcement of the Cross. Jesus goes across Galilee, but he does not want people to know it, because he is busy with the formation of the disciples, and he speaks with them about the Cross. He says that according to the prophecy of Isaiah (Is 53, 1-10), the Son of Man has to be handed over and condemned to death. This indicates the orientation of Jesus toward the Bible, whether in the carrying out of his own mission, as in the formation given to his disciples. He drew his teaching from the prophecies. Like in the first announcement (Mk 8, 32), the disciples listen to him, but they do not understand what he says about the Cross. But they do not ask for any clarification. They are afraid to show their ignorance!
.
Mark 9, 33-34: The competitive mentality. When they got home, Jesus asked: “What were you arguing about on the road?” They did not answer. It is the silence of the one who feels guilty, “on the road, in fact, they had been arguing which of them was the greatest”. Jesus is a good pedagogue. He does not intervene immediately. He knows how to wait for the opportune moment to fight against the influence of the ideology in those whom he is forming. The competitive mentality and of prestige, which characterized the society of the Roman Empire, was already penetrating into the small community which was just being formed! Behold the contrast: incoherence: Jesus is concerned with being the Messiah Servant and they think only in who is the greatest. Jesus tries to descend, they think of going up!
.
Mark 9, 35-37:. To serve instead of commanding. The response of Jesus is a summary of the witness of life which he himself was giving from the beginning: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all! Because the last one does not win a prize nor obtain a reward. He is a useless servant (cfr. Lk 17, 10). Power must be used not to ascend and dominate, but to descend and serve. This is the point on which Jesus insists the most and of which he gives a greater witness (cf. Mk 10, 45; Mt 20, 28; Jn 13. 1-16). Then Jesus took a little child whom he set among them. A person, who only thinks to go up and to dominate, would not lend much attention to little ones and to children. But Jesus overturns everything! He says: “Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me”. He identifies himself with little ones. Anyone who welcomes the little ones in the name of Jesus welcomes God himself!
.
A person is not a saint and is not renewed by the simple fact of “following Jesus”. In the midst of the disciples, and always again, the “yeast of Herod and of the Pharisees” (Mk 8, 15) could be observed. In the episode of today’s Gospel, Jesus appears as a teacher forming his followers. “To follow” was a term that formed part of the educational system of that time. It was used to indicate the relationship between the disciple and the teacher. The relationship teacher-disciple is different from that of professor-pupil. The pupils go to the class of the professor of a determinate subject. The disciples “follow” the teacher and live with him, twenty-four hours a day. In this “living together” with Jesus during three years, the disciples will receive their formation. Tomorrow’s Gospel will give us another quite concrete example of how Jesus formed his disciples.
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Personal questions
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Jesus wants to lower himself and serve. The disciples want to ascend and to dominate. And I? Which is the most profound motivation of my “unknown I”?
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To follow Jesus and to be with him, twenty-four hours a day, and allow his way of living to become my way of living and of living together with others. Is this taking place in me?
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Concluding Prayer
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May the words of my mouth always find favour, and the whispering of my heart, in your presence, Yahweh, my rock, my redeemer. (Ps 19,14)
http://www.ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-mark-930-37
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Mark 9, 30-32: The announcement of the Cross. Jesus goes across Galilee, but he does not want people to know it, because he is busy with the formation of the disciples, and he speaks with them about the Cross. He says that according to the prophecy of Isaiah (Is 53, 1-10), the Son of Man has to be handed over and condemned to death. This indicates the orientation of Jesus toward the Bible, whether in the carrying out of his own mission, as in the formation given to his disciples. He drew his teaching from the prophecies. Like in the first announcement (Mk 8, 32), the disciples listen to him, but they do not understand what he says about the Cross. But they do not ask for any clarification. They are afraid to show their ignorance!
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Mark 9, 33-34: The competitive mentality. When they got home, Jesus asked: “What were you arguing about on the road?” They did not answer. It is the silence of the one who feels guilty, “on the road, in fact, they had been arguing which of them was the greatest”. Jesus is a good pedagogue. He does not intervene immediately. He knows how to wait for the opportune moment to fight against the influence of the ideology in those whom he is forming. The competitive mentality and of prestige, which characterized the society of the Roman Empire, was already penetrating into the small community which was just being formed! Behold the contrast: incoherence: Jesus is concerned with being the Messiah Servant and they think only in who is the greatest. Jesus tries to descend, they think of going up!
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Mark 9, 35-37:. To serve instead of commanding. The response of Jesus is a summary of the witness of life which he himself was giving from the beginning: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all! Because the last one does not win a prize nor obtain a reward. He is a useless servant (cfr. Lk 17, 10). Power must be used not to ascend and dominate, but to descend and serve. This is the point on which Jesus insists the most and of which he gives a greater witness (cf. Mk 10, 45; Mt 20, 28; Jn 13. 1-16). Then Jesus took a little child whom he set among them. A person, who only thinks to go up and to dominate, would not lend much attention to little ones and to children. But Jesus overturns everything! He says: “Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me”. He identifies himself with little ones. Anyone who welcomes the little ones in the name of Jesus welcomes God himself!
.
A person is not a saint and is not renewed by the simple fact of “following Jesus”. In the midst of the disciples, and always again, the “yeast of Herod and of the Pharisees” (Mk 8, 15) could be observed. In the episode of today’s Gospel, Jesus appears as a teacher forming his followers. “To follow” was a term that formed part of the educational system of that time. It was used to indicate the relationship between the disciple and the teacher. The relationship teacher-disciple is different from that of professor-pupil. The pupils go to the class of the professor of a determinate subject. The disciples “follow” the teacher and live with him, twenty-four hours a day. In this “living together” with Jesus during three years, the disciples will receive their formation. Tomorrow’s Gospel will give us another quite concrete example of how Jesus formed his disciples.
.
Personal questions
.
Jesus wants to lower himself and serve. The disciples want to ascend and to dominate. And I? Which is the most profound motivation of my “unknown I”?
.
To follow Jesus and to be with him, twenty-four hours a day, and allow his way of living to become my way of living and of living together with others. Is this taking place in me?
.
Concluding Prayer
.
May the words of my mouth always find favour, and the whispering of my heart, in your presence, Yahweh, my rock, my redeemer. (Ps 19,14)
http://www.ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-mark-930-37
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Reflection by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh Archbishop of Singapore
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What is the cause of division among us? St James invites us to look
within ourselves. He poses: “Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting
inside your own selves?” Indeed, the beginning of disunity originates
from each individual who is at war within himself. What then are those
factors that destroy the integrity of the individual? Basically, there
are two reasons why we lack integrity within us, namely, greed and
pride.
Greed is manifested in two ways. Firstly, it expresses itself in the inordinate cravings of man. When we crave for something, we become greedy. We begin to complain, grumble and become dissatisfied with life. Greed leads to jealousy and often, because of greed, we will do anything to ensure that we fulfill our desires. As a result we cannot but overstep our boundaries and hurt others. So desire is the cause of our unhappiness.
Secondly, it is not simply greed but our identification with the world and its values. When we begin to seek for pleasures and comfort; power and prestige, then we are no better than people in the world. By identifying ourselves with the world, we become inward looking and envious of others who are more successful or have more than us. Indeed, we make God our enemies, as James tells us, since God is a jealous God who wants us for Himself alone. Without our total availability and surrender to Him, we become divided within ourselves. God and His values are no longer our priority.
The second root cause of our inner tension is our pride. This pride is manifested firstly in our ambition. Ambition, be it the ambition for power, prestige or popularity, is the cause of our misery. When we are ambitious, we become restless and tense. Indeed, quite often we lose happiness in our ministry because of the stress we get in trying to live up to people’s expectations and demands. Our ministry becomes an obligation, a duty and a burden. There is no more joy left as we do everything under stress and reluctantly.
Of course, the real problem is that we lack the humility to recognize our limits in life. We take upon ourselves one project after another. We are afraid to say “no.” We are also afraid to fail. As a result, we work and work and work until we are burnt out. Not only does our ambition make us stressful and miserable, but we transfer our stress and edginess to our subordinates as well. Indeed, such is the cycle of ambition that misery is created from within and then inflicted on others.
The second manifestation of our pride is of course seen in our obstinacy. We want things to be done the way we want. We want everyone to follow our will. We are intolerant of others who think differently from us, for fear that they will hinder us from achieving our goals and objectives. So we view them as threats to our ambition. As a result, we begin to fight with each other. It is our stubborn will, the sin of pride that deceives us into believing that we know best and thus must have things our ways.
How then can we get out of this situation? Does it mean that it is wrong to have desires, ambition and a strong will? The irony is that if we do not have desires then it implies we do not have any goals in life. And if we lack ambition in life, then we become complacent and disorientated. Furthermore, without a strong will, we will never be able to achieve anything in life. So there seems to be a dilemma within us. Either way we seem to err, as there are contradictions in whichever choice we make.
However, when we look at Jesus, does it appear that Jesus did not have any desires, ambition or lack of will? Certainly not! From the passion prophecy of Jesus, something can be gathered about the way Jesus looked at life. Firstly, the fact that Jesus was ready to face death for His kingdom message means that Jesus put the interests of His Father and the people He loves before His own. He could have saved His own skin by staying away from Jerusalem. In other words, Jesus did not crave for His own needs. Rather, He subordinated everything to the proclamation of the Kingdom. So Jesus certainly had desire, but only the desire to serve His Father in humility.
Secondly, He too had great ambition, which was to fulfill the plan of His Father. In His readiness to face death, Jesus manifested His utter submission to the Father’s plan. He was certainly a determined person, but only insofar as to do the will of His Father. Instead of following His own will, He humbly surrendered everything to the Father’s plan, even though humanly speaking He could not see very clearly how His death could bring about the intended establishment of the Kingdom. He could even accept failure for His mission, if that was what the Father wanted of Him. Hence, even in the face of death, He surrendered Himself to the Father.
Thirdly, Jesus was certainly a servant in the fullest sense of the word. For Him, to be great is to be a servant, and not simply a servant, but a servant to the marginalized and the unknown who cannot give you back anything in return. This is implied in His advice to His disciples who were jolting for power. Indeed, He declared, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all … Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me.” This is a great demonstration of humility in service.
Hence, if want to find happiness and inner peace in life, we must attune our hearts, our minds, and our wills with the will of God. We must align our plans and ambition with the plan of God. Only then can we find real peace in our lives. For this reason, we need to pray. St James tells us that prayer is the key to true inner peace. Peace of mind and contentment must come from our prayer and discernment. What would such a prayer of discernment entail?
Firstly, we cannot pray for something simply to indulge our own desires; our own cravings. By so doing, we are making the world our friend and making God our enemy. “Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God’s enemy.” For when we choose the world and our own emotional and physical gratification, God is no longer the first love in our lives. So to find real peace, we must be free of cravings and desires, especially of material things, even food.
Secondly, we must pray for humility to accept God’s will in our lives. For as St James said, “God opposes the proud but he gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil.” Only when we are humble, can we see the wisdom of God’s will and plan for our lives. Instead of being ignorant and always insisting on things to be done our way, it behooves us to be humble and obey God instead. In this way, we purify our minds and unite our minds and hearts with God, instead of wavering and living a life of conflict within ourselves, with our hearts fighting within us to do our will and God’s will.
But most of all, in the prayer of discernment, we must ask whether whatever we are asking for, whatever we decide to do, whatever plans and ambitions we have, are more for ourselves, our convenience and comfort, or truly for the service and good of others. So long as whatever we do is truly for the good of others and not for our own vested interests, then we can say confidently that our prayer would be answered since our mind is that of God’s.
Yes, it is easy to find scapegoats for our unhappiness. It is easy to blame our superiors, our friends and even our loved ones for things that do not agree with us. But the real problem lies in our attitudes and our disposition towards things and life. Because we fail to recognize that the problem ultimately lies within ourselves, we find fault with others. As a consequence, not only do we create misery for ourselves, but we also make others miserable too.
Thus in order that we might find motivation to turn to Jesus for guidance, we must first and foremost recognize our misery. James tells us, “Look at your wretched condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy instead of happy.” Indeed, when we are aware that it is our attachment, our obstinacy, pride and self-centeredness that make us unhappy and bring about our separation from others, then we will come to God so that He can purify our minds and hearts. Let us therefore pray for the gift of discernment and most of all, a Christ-like mind and attitude towards life, things and people. This calls a total submission to God’s will in our lives by being generous in service, putting others before self.
http://www.csctr.net/25-february-2014-tuesday-7th-week-in-ordinary-time/
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Greed is manifested in two ways. Firstly, it expresses itself in the inordinate cravings of man. When we crave for something, we become greedy. We begin to complain, grumble and become dissatisfied with life. Greed leads to jealousy and often, because of greed, we will do anything to ensure that we fulfill our desires. As a result we cannot but overstep our boundaries and hurt others. So desire is the cause of our unhappiness.
Secondly, it is not simply greed but our identification with the world and its values. When we begin to seek for pleasures and comfort; power and prestige, then we are no better than people in the world. By identifying ourselves with the world, we become inward looking and envious of others who are more successful or have more than us. Indeed, we make God our enemies, as James tells us, since God is a jealous God who wants us for Himself alone. Without our total availability and surrender to Him, we become divided within ourselves. God and His values are no longer our priority.
The second root cause of our inner tension is our pride. This pride is manifested firstly in our ambition. Ambition, be it the ambition for power, prestige or popularity, is the cause of our misery. When we are ambitious, we become restless and tense. Indeed, quite often we lose happiness in our ministry because of the stress we get in trying to live up to people’s expectations and demands. Our ministry becomes an obligation, a duty and a burden. There is no more joy left as we do everything under stress and reluctantly.
Of course, the real problem is that we lack the humility to recognize our limits in life. We take upon ourselves one project after another. We are afraid to say “no.” We are also afraid to fail. As a result, we work and work and work until we are burnt out. Not only does our ambition make us stressful and miserable, but we transfer our stress and edginess to our subordinates as well. Indeed, such is the cycle of ambition that misery is created from within and then inflicted on others.
The second manifestation of our pride is of course seen in our obstinacy. We want things to be done the way we want. We want everyone to follow our will. We are intolerant of others who think differently from us, for fear that they will hinder us from achieving our goals and objectives. So we view them as threats to our ambition. As a result, we begin to fight with each other. It is our stubborn will, the sin of pride that deceives us into believing that we know best and thus must have things our ways.
How then can we get out of this situation? Does it mean that it is wrong to have desires, ambition and a strong will? The irony is that if we do not have desires then it implies we do not have any goals in life. And if we lack ambition in life, then we become complacent and disorientated. Furthermore, without a strong will, we will never be able to achieve anything in life. So there seems to be a dilemma within us. Either way we seem to err, as there are contradictions in whichever choice we make.
However, when we look at Jesus, does it appear that Jesus did not have any desires, ambition or lack of will? Certainly not! From the passion prophecy of Jesus, something can be gathered about the way Jesus looked at life. Firstly, the fact that Jesus was ready to face death for His kingdom message means that Jesus put the interests of His Father and the people He loves before His own. He could have saved His own skin by staying away from Jerusalem. In other words, Jesus did not crave for His own needs. Rather, He subordinated everything to the proclamation of the Kingdom. So Jesus certainly had desire, but only the desire to serve His Father in humility.
Secondly, He too had great ambition, which was to fulfill the plan of His Father. In His readiness to face death, Jesus manifested His utter submission to the Father’s plan. He was certainly a determined person, but only insofar as to do the will of His Father. Instead of following His own will, He humbly surrendered everything to the Father’s plan, even though humanly speaking He could not see very clearly how His death could bring about the intended establishment of the Kingdom. He could even accept failure for His mission, if that was what the Father wanted of Him. Hence, even in the face of death, He surrendered Himself to the Father.
Thirdly, Jesus was certainly a servant in the fullest sense of the word. For Him, to be great is to be a servant, and not simply a servant, but a servant to the marginalized and the unknown who cannot give you back anything in return. This is implied in His advice to His disciples who were jolting for power. Indeed, He declared, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all … Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me.” This is a great demonstration of humility in service.
Hence, if want to find happiness and inner peace in life, we must attune our hearts, our minds, and our wills with the will of God. We must align our plans and ambition with the plan of God. Only then can we find real peace in our lives. For this reason, we need to pray. St James tells us that prayer is the key to true inner peace. Peace of mind and contentment must come from our prayer and discernment. What would such a prayer of discernment entail?
Firstly, we cannot pray for something simply to indulge our own desires; our own cravings. By so doing, we are making the world our friend and making God our enemy. “Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God’s enemy.” For when we choose the world and our own emotional and physical gratification, God is no longer the first love in our lives. So to find real peace, we must be free of cravings and desires, especially of material things, even food.
Secondly, we must pray for humility to accept God’s will in our lives. For as St James said, “God opposes the proud but he gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil.” Only when we are humble, can we see the wisdom of God’s will and plan for our lives. Instead of being ignorant and always insisting on things to be done our way, it behooves us to be humble and obey God instead. In this way, we purify our minds and unite our minds and hearts with God, instead of wavering and living a life of conflict within ourselves, with our hearts fighting within us to do our will and God’s will.
But most of all, in the prayer of discernment, we must ask whether whatever we are asking for, whatever we decide to do, whatever plans and ambitions we have, are more for ourselves, our convenience and comfort, or truly for the service and good of others. So long as whatever we do is truly for the good of others and not for our own vested interests, then we can say confidently that our prayer would be answered since our mind is that of God’s.
Yes, it is easy to find scapegoats for our unhappiness. It is easy to blame our superiors, our friends and even our loved ones for things that do not agree with us. But the real problem lies in our attitudes and our disposition towards things and life. Because we fail to recognize that the problem ultimately lies within ourselves, we find fault with others. As a consequence, not only do we create misery for ourselves, but we also make others miserable too.
Thus in order that we might find motivation to turn to Jesus for guidance, we must first and foremost recognize our misery. James tells us, “Look at your wretched condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy instead of happy.” Indeed, when we are aware that it is our attachment, our obstinacy, pride and self-centeredness that make us unhappy and bring about our separation from others, then we will come to God so that He can purify our minds and hearts. Let us therefore pray for the gift of discernment and most of all, a Christ-like mind and attitude towards life, things and people. This calls a total submission to God’s will in our lives by being generous in service, putting others before self.
http://www.csctr.net/25-february-2014-tuesday-7th-week-in-ordinary-time/
.
Hagel’s Military Budget Focuses on Emerging Threat
February 24, 2014
Defense Secretary Cuts Back on Traditional Troops, Boosts Special Forces and Cybersecurity
By Dion Nissenbaum And Julian E. Barnes
The Wall Street Journal
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks about the Defense Department’s budget requests at the Pentagon on Monday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is proposing a new budget plan designed to turn the military’s attention from the long ground war in Afghanistan toward emerging cyberthreats from China and increasing challenges from al Qaeda-affiliated groups in Africa.
The Pentagon road map, sure to face fierce resistance from across the political spectrum, calls for reducing the military’s reliance on manpower-heavy troop buildups, investing instead in more agile special forces and cyberwarriors.
In unveiling the first Pentagon budget to bear his imprint, Mr. Hagel is calling for cutting back the size of the Army to a level opposed by some top generals, curtailing construction of a new class of Navy ships cherished by top admirals and scrapping an Air Force plane used to protect U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead, Mr. Hagel proposes injecting more money into changes defense officials say will make for a more adaptable and innovative military that is better ready to respond to changing threats.
Mr. Hagel wants to pare back the size of the active-duty military by 13% and the reserve force by 5%. But he is looking to boost the size of U.S. Special Forces by nearly 6% by adding about 3,000 personnel to the kinds of teams that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, rescued an American aid worker in Somalia and freed U.S. commercial sailors captured by pirates off the coast of East Africa.
“This is a time for reality,” Mr. Hagel said Monday in unveiling the $496 billion budget plan. “This is a budget that recognizes the reality of the magnitude of our fiscal challenges, the dangerous world we live in, and the American military’s unique and indispensable role in the security of this country and in today’s volatile world.”
Congress has the final say on the Pentagon budget, and must approve most of the recommendations in it. The full details of the proposed budget will be included in President Barack Obama‘s budget plan to be unveiled next week. The proposal will be submitted to Congress, which will weigh the Pentagon’s proposals over the course of the year.
Mr. Hagel’s proposals attempt to establish new priorities for a pared back military that is preparing for years of declining financial support.
Doing so won’t be easy. Every major element of the spending plan is certain to face opposition from powerful groups, governors and lawmakers who have different ideas for how the Pentagon should spend its money.
Veterans groups and their congressional supporters are preparing to battle Mr. Hagel’s call to curtail spending on military benefits that consume a significant portion of the Pentagon budget.
Influential lawmakers are expected to oppose Mr. Hagel’s proposal to eliminate the entire military fleet of about 300 A-10 “Warthog” jets, widely admired as a plane key to helping U.S. ground forces in battle.
And Congress is likely to reject Mr. Hagel’s call for creating a commission to examine the closure of military bases across the country.
But Pentagon officials said Monday if Congress doesn’t make those cuts, other spending would have to be curtailed.
“Changes in force structure and infrastructure and institutional reform can be unpleasant and unpopular, and we know that,” said a senior military official. “It is hard to cut this amount of money out of anything and expect people to cheer about it.”
Mr. Hagel warned critics that things could get much worse for the Defense Department if lawmakers don’t roll back automatic spending cuts that constrain the Pentagon’s ability to make strategic spending decisions.
Mr. Hagel, in essence, presented two spending plans: one for if the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration remain in place, and another if the cutbacks are eased by about $115 billion over the next five years in a new budget deal.
Under the budget plan announced Monday, Mr. Hagel would cut the Army to 440,000 or 450,000 from the current 520,000. If the sequester remains, he said, the Army would shrink to 420,000.
Under sequestration funding levels, Mr. Hagel said the military would also cut an aircraft carrier, retire a range of surveillance drones, slow the purchase of F-35 fighters and cut the size of the Marine Corps.
Mr. Hagel said the Pentagon would like to refuel and refurbish the USS George Washington, a carrier slated for possible retirement, but will only be able to afford to do so if the spending caps are eased.
The Pentagon has threatened deep and unpopular cuts before, and the strategy has at least partially worked. While the spending cuts remain on the books, the Pentagon has yet to face the full impact of reductions under sequestration.
The new areas of investment outlined in the fiscal 2015 budget show the military investing not only for cyberthreats in China but also, potentially, for increased security challenges in the physical world.
Some in the Navy have long hoped to retire older cruisers, designed primarily for air-defense threats, plans blocked by Congress. Instead of retiring the cruisers, the new Pentagon plan proposes modernizing them and extending their life. It also includes money for a new frigate design, a vessel that could prove more versatile than the littoral combat ship in the large ocean expanses of the Pacific.
Defense officials said if the money is allocated to design a new frigate, the Navy in years to come will be able to choose between building a modified, up-gunned littoral combat ship, or LCS, and a new frigate.
Mr. Hagel spoke critically about the LCS, siding with critics who have questioned the capabilities of the ship and its ability to survive modern firefights.
“We need to closely examine whether the LCS has the protection and firepower to survive against a more advanced military adversary and emerging new technologies, especially in the Asia Pacific,” Mr. Hagel said.
The new budget picks a series of fights with Congress, sticking with proposals that have been floated in recent months—and that have been heavily criticized.
Over objections from the National Guard, Mr. Hagel is proposing transferring all of the Apache attack helicopters from the reserve force to the active-duty Army. The Pentagon will also pursue a range of options to slow the growth of pay and benefits, measures opposed by many Veterans groups.
The new plan reverses a decision made a year ago to mothball the current version of the Global Hawk drone and keep the venerable U2 spy plane. Under the proposal unveiled Monday, the Pentagon would retire the U2. Pentagon officials said over the past year operational costs for the Global Hawk have declined.
“We have changed our mind, as is our prerogative, based on data,” said a senior Defense Department official. “It is time to retire the U2. We can’t afford them both, we have to pick one or the other.”
By Dion Nissenbaum And Julian E. Barnes
The Wall Street Journal
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks about the Defense Department’s budget requests at the Pentagon on Monday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is proposing a new budget plan designed to turn the military’s attention from the long ground war in Afghanistan toward emerging cyberthreats from China and increasing challenges from al Qaeda-affiliated groups in Africa.
The Pentagon road map, sure to face fierce resistance from across the political spectrum, calls for reducing the military’s reliance on manpower-heavy troop buildups, investing instead in more agile special forces and cyberwarriors.
In unveiling the first Pentagon budget to bear his imprint, Mr. Hagel is calling for cutting back the size of the Army to a level opposed by some top generals, curtailing construction of a new class of Navy ships cherished by top admirals and scrapping an Air Force plane used to protect U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead, Mr. Hagel proposes injecting more money into changes defense officials say will make for a more adaptable and innovative military that is better ready to respond to changing threats.
Mr. Hagel wants to pare back the size of the active-duty military by 13% and the reserve force by 5%. But he is looking to boost the size of U.S. Special Forces by nearly 6% by adding about 3,000 personnel to the kinds of teams that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, rescued an American aid worker in Somalia and freed U.S. commercial sailors captured by pirates off the coast of East Africa.
“This is a time for reality,” Mr. Hagel said Monday in unveiling the $496 billion budget plan. “This is a budget that recognizes the reality of the magnitude of our fiscal challenges, the dangerous world we live in, and the American military’s unique and indispensable role in the security of this country and in today’s volatile world.”
Congress has the final say on the Pentagon budget, and must approve most of the recommendations in it. The full details of the proposed budget will be included in President Barack Obama‘s budget plan to be unveiled next week. The proposal will be submitted to Congress, which will weigh the Pentagon’s proposals over the course of the year.
Mr. Hagel’s proposals attempt to establish new priorities for a pared back military that is preparing for years of declining financial support.
Doing so won’t be easy. Every major element of the spending plan is certain to face opposition from powerful groups, governors and lawmakers who have different ideas for how the Pentagon should spend its money.
Veterans groups and their congressional supporters are preparing to battle Mr. Hagel’s call to curtail spending on military benefits that consume a significant portion of the Pentagon budget.
Influential lawmakers are expected to oppose Mr. Hagel’s proposal to eliminate the entire military fleet of about 300 A-10 “Warthog” jets, widely admired as a plane key to helping U.S. ground forces in battle.
And Congress is likely to reject Mr. Hagel’s call for creating a commission to examine the closure of military bases across the country.
But Pentagon officials said Monday if Congress doesn’t make those cuts, other spending would have to be curtailed.
“Changes in force structure and infrastructure and institutional reform can be unpleasant and unpopular, and we know that,” said a senior military official. “It is hard to cut this amount of money out of anything and expect people to cheer about it.”
Mr. Hagel warned critics that things could get much worse for the Defense Department if lawmakers don’t roll back automatic spending cuts that constrain the Pentagon’s ability to make strategic spending decisions.
Mr. Hagel, in essence, presented two spending plans: one for if the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration remain in place, and another if the cutbacks are eased by about $115 billion over the next five years in a new budget deal.
Under the budget plan announced Monday, Mr. Hagel would cut the Army to 440,000 or 450,000 from the current 520,000. If the sequester remains, he said, the Army would shrink to 420,000.
Under sequestration funding levels, Mr. Hagel said the military would also cut an aircraft carrier, retire a range of surveillance drones, slow the purchase of F-35 fighters and cut the size of the Marine Corps.
Mr. Hagel said the Pentagon would like to refuel and refurbish the USS George Washington, a carrier slated for possible retirement, but will only be able to afford to do so if the spending caps are eased.
The Pentagon has threatened deep and unpopular cuts before, and the strategy has at least partially worked. While the spending cuts remain on the books, the Pentagon has yet to face the full impact of reductions under sequestration.
The new areas of investment outlined in the fiscal 2015 budget show the military investing not only for cyberthreats in China but also, potentially, for increased security challenges in the physical world.
Some in the Navy have long hoped to retire older cruisers, designed primarily for air-defense threats, plans blocked by Congress. Instead of retiring the cruisers, the new Pentagon plan proposes modernizing them and extending their life. It also includes money for a new frigate design, a vessel that could prove more versatile than the littoral combat ship in the large ocean expanses of the Pacific.
Defense officials said if the money is allocated to design a new frigate, the Navy in years to come will be able to choose between building a modified, up-gunned littoral combat ship, or LCS, and a new frigate.
Mr. Hagel spoke critically about the LCS, siding with critics who have questioned the capabilities of the ship and its ability to survive modern firefights.
“We need to closely examine whether the LCS has the protection and firepower to survive against a more advanced military adversary and emerging new technologies, especially in the Asia Pacific,” Mr. Hagel said.
The new budget picks a series of fights with Congress, sticking with proposals that have been floated in recent months—and that have been heavily criticized.
Over objections from the National Guard, Mr. Hagel is proposing transferring all of the Apache attack helicopters from the reserve force to the active-duty Army. The Pentagon will also pursue a range of options to slow the growth of pay and benefits, measures opposed by many Veterans groups.
The new plan reverses a decision made a year ago to mothball the current version of the Global Hawk drone and keep the venerable U2 spy plane. Under the proposal unveiled Monday, the Pentagon would retire the U2. Pentagon officials said over the past year operational costs for the Global Hawk have declined.
“We have changed our mind, as is our prerogative, based on data,” said a senior Defense Department official. “It is time to retire the U2. We can’t afford them both, we have to pick one or the other.”
Pediatrics Group Balks at Rise of Retail Health Clinics
February 24, 2014
Medical Outposts Don’t Provide Pediatricians’ Continuity of Care
By Melinda Beck and Timothy W. Martin
The Wall Street Journal
A customer fills out a health-information form at a Walgreen’s health clinic in Illinois last September. Getty Images
Retail health clinics that are popping up in drugstores and other
outlets shouldn’t be used for children’s primary-care needs, the
American Academy of Pediatrics said, arguing that such facilities don’t
provide the continuity of care that pediatricians do.
While retail clinics may be more convenient and less costly, the AAP said they are detrimental to the concept of a “medical home,” where patients have a personal physician who knows them well and coordinates all their care.
“We want to do all we can to support the concept of ‘medical home’ for kids,” said James Laughlin, lead author of the statement, published in the journal Pediatrics Monday.
Set in drugstores, supermarkets and big-box stores, retail health clinics are playing a bigger role in the delivery of health care. Some have expanded beyond treating sore throats and giving flu shots to offer sports and school physicals and treat chronic diseases, setting up more direct competition with doctors.
Retail clinics also are generally open seven days a week, don’t
require an appointment, accept more types of insurance than doctors do
and charge 30% to 40% less for similar services, studies show. Costs
vary widely by region and service offered, but getting a common ailment
treated at a retail clinic, without insurance, typically runs between
$50 and $75.
After plateauing in recent years, the numbers of these outlets are once again expanding, as retailers bet that the Affordable Care Act will bring longer waits at doctors’ offices and drive more patients their way.
CVS Caremark Corp., the largest player, wants to double its MinuteClinic locations in CVS stores to 1,500 by 2017. Walgreen Co. plans to add 100 more clinics this year, bringing its total to 500. Consulting firm Accenture estimates the total number could grow to 2,800 by next year from about 1,400 in 2012.
The Convenient Care Association, the national trade group, said retail clinics are responding to consumer demand. “They are a more convenient option for parents with sick children than the alternative, which is often waiting for an appointment or spending hours in a high-cost emergency room for a minor pediatric complaint,” Tine Hansen-Turton, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.
Half of visits to CVS’s clinics, for instance, are at night or on weekends, said Andrew Sussman, MinuteClinic’s president. “We’re filling in the gaps,” he said
Most retail clinics are run by nurse practitioners, not physicians, but some health systems are creating alliances with retailers. CVS has 30 partnerships with hospital systems, including Emory Healthcare in Atlanta and the Cleveland Clinic, where doctors review electronic medical charts, off-site.
The AAP said it supports partnerships where clinics refer patients back to their pediatricians and share all pertinent information, but Dr. Laughlin said those are rare. With most clinics, he said, “The tendency to work collaboratively has not been there.”
Studies show that people who use retail health clinics tend to be younger, healthier and more affluent than average. As many as 70% of parents who use them have a pediatrician but say they can’t wait for an appointment or take time off work when the doctor’s office is open, said Ateev Mehrotra, a policy analyst at RAND Corp., who has studied the clinics for years.
And some parents say they don’t want to bother their doctors. Karen Ide, mother of two boys in Park Ridge, Ill., said their pediatrician is their main health-care provider. “But for the little things that come up, like sore throats, eye infections, ear infections, Walgreen’s is my go-to,” she said.
The AAP statement, which updates a 2006 policy, said seemingly simple complaints may have serious underlying causes. Pediatricians also use routine visits to monitor and discuss other issues, such as mental health and obesity.
Dr. Laughlin also said, however, that pediatricians should be more accessible: “That’s an issue that we as a profession need to address.” By including a large group of doctors who work staggered shifts, he said his practice in Bloomington, Ind., is available 365 days a year, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays.
With demands on their time likely to increase, Dr. Mehrotra said pediatricians should accept that patients will use retail clinics for some services and focus on improving communication and cooperation. But he fears the AAP’s position may create more animosity instead. “Some pediatric practices say they won’t see you if you go to a retail clinic,” he said. “And we’ve heard that some patents tell retail clinics, ‘Please don’t tell the pediatrician that I’m here.’ “
Write to Melinda Beck at HealthJournal@wsj.com and Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com
By Melinda Beck and Timothy W. Martin
The Wall Street Journal
While retail clinics may be more convenient and less costly, the AAP said they are detrimental to the concept of a “medical home,” where patients have a personal physician who knows them well and coordinates all their care.
“We want to do all we can to support the concept of ‘medical home’ for kids,” said James Laughlin, lead author of the statement, published in the journal Pediatrics Monday.
Set in drugstores, supermarkets and big-box stores, retail health clinics are playing a bigger role in the delivery of health care. Some have expanded beyond treating sore throats and giving flu shots to offer sports and school physicals and treat chronic diseases, setting up more direct competition with doctors.
Retail clinics also are generally open seven days a week, don’t
require an appointment, accept more types of insurance than doctors do
and charge 30% to 40% less for similar services, studies show. Costs
vary widely by region and service offered, but getting a common ailment
treated at a retail clinic, without insurance, typically runs between
$50 and $75.After plateauing in recent years, the numbers of these outlets are once again expanding, as retailers bet that the Affordable Care Act will bring longer waits at doctors’ offices and drive more patients their way.
CVS Caremark Corp., the largest player, wants to double its MinuteClinic locations in CVS stores to 1,500 by 2017. Walgreen Co. plans to add 100 more clinics this year, bringing its total to 500. Consulting firm Accenture estimates the total number could grow to 2,800 by next year from about 1,400 in 2012.
The Convenient Care Association, the national trade group, said retail clinics are responding to consumer demand. “They are a more convenient option for parents with sick children than the alternative, which is often waiting for an appointment or spending hours in a high-cost emergency room for a minor pediatric complaint,” Tine Hansen-Turton, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.
Half of visits to CVS’s clinics, for instance, are at night or on weekends, said Andrew Sussman, MinuteClinic’s president. “We’re filling in the gaps,” he said
Most retail clinics are run by nurse practitioners, not physicians, but some health systems are creating alliances with retailers. CVS has 30 partnerships with hospital systems, including Emory Healthcare in Atlanta and the Cleveland Clinic, where doctors review electronic medical charts, off-site.
The AAP said it supports partnerships where clinics refer patients back to their pediatricians and share all pertinent information, but Dr. Laughlin said those are rare. With most clinics, he said, “The tendency to work collaboratively has not been there.”
Studies show that people who use retail health clinics tend to be younger, healthier and more affluent than average. As many as 70% of parents who use them have a pediatrician but say they can’t wait for an appointment or take time off work when the doctor’s office is open, said Ateev Mehrotra, a policy analyst at RAND Corp., who has studied the clinics for years.
And some parents say they don’t want to bother their doctors. Karen Ide, mother of two boys in Park Ridge, Ill., said their pediatrician is their main health-care provider. “But for the little things that come up, like sore throats, eye infections, ear infections, Walgreen’s is my go-to,” she said.
The AAP statement, which updates a 2006 policy, said seemingly simple complaints may have serious underlying causes. Pediatricians also use routine visits to monitor and discuss other issues, such as mental health and obesity.
Dr. Laughlin also said, however, that pediatricians should be more accessible: “That’s an issue that we as a profession need to address.” By including a large group of doctors who work staggered shifts, he said his practice in Bloomington, Ind., is available 365 days a year, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays.
With demands on their time likely to increase, Dr. Mehrotra said pediatricians should accept that patients will use retail clinics for some services and focus on improving communication and cooperation. But he fears the AAP’s position may create more animosity instead. “Some pediatric practices say they won’t see you if you go to a retail clinic,” he said. “And we’ve heard that some patents tell retail clinics, ‘Please don’t tell the pediatrician that I’m here.’ “
Write to Melinda Beck at HealthJournal@wsj.com and Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com
South Korea begins military drills with US despite North Korean opposition
February 24, 2014
AFP
Marines from the US and South Korea during last year’s military drills. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
South Korea has kicked off its annual joint military exercises with the US despite vocal opposition from North Korea. The drills will test a recent improvement in cross-border ties.
The start of this year’s military exercises overlaps with the first reunion for more than three years of families divided by the Korean war – an event that has raised hopes of greater North-South co-operation.
Pyongyang had initially insisted that the joint exercises be postponed until after the reunion finishes on Tuesday, but Seoul refused and – in a rare concession – the North allowed the family gathering to go ahead as scheduled.
The annual “Key Resolve” and “Foal Eagle” drills – routinely condemned by North Korea as rehearsals for invasion – will last until 18 April and involve a combined total of 12,700 US troops and many more from South Korea.
Key Resolve lasts just over a week and is a largely computer-simulated exercise, while the eight-week Foal Eagle drill involves air, ground and naval field training. Seoul and Washington insist they are both defensive in nature, playing out various scenarios to combat a North Korean invasion.
Last year’s drills fuelled a protracted surge in military tensions, with Pyongyang threatening a pre-emptive nuclear strike, and nuclear-capable US stealth bombers making dummy runs over the Korean peninsula.
US defence officials have indicated – in an apparent effort to mollify the North – that this year’s drills will be toned down, with no aircraft carrier and no strategic bombers.
However, the South Korean defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok insisted on Monday that there would be “no readjustment” in the scale of the manoeuvres.
Saturday’s edition of the North’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun slammed the exercises as a “vicious attempt” to undo the goodwill generated by the family reunion.
Such rhetoric was only to be expected, and analysts say the North is unlikely to go much further for fear of jeopardising the credit it sees itself as having banked by agreeing to the divided family meetings.
“The North’s strategy is clearly to gain some economic benefit on the back of the family reunion,” said Ahn Chan-il, director of the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul.
In particular, North Korea wants the South to resume regular tours to its Mount Kumgang resort, which provided a much-needed source of hard currency in the past.
South Korea suspended the tours after a female tourist was shot dead by North Korean security guards in 2008.
The South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, has made it clear that Seoul considers the reunion a first step – suggesting her administration is willing to consider some reciprocity down the road.
John Delury, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University, believes Park and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, are at a point where their respective national interests could dovetail to their mutual benefit.
“Once she begins to act with resolve things could move quickly if Kim is ready to play ball,” Delury wrote on the closely followed North-Korea-focused website 38 North.
The North’s threat to cancel the reunion over the joint drills was withdrawn during talks earlier this month that marked the highest-level official contact between the two Koreas for seven years.
Both sides agreed to keep the dialogue going, although without any specific timetable or agenda. Any further progress is likely to be limited.
While there are numerous confidence-building measures that could be put in place, nothing is going to escape the shadow cast by North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Pyongyang would like direct talks with Washington, but the US secretary of state, John Kerry, reiterated during a recent visit to Seoul that there could be no dialogue until the North showed a tangible commitment towards denuclearisation.
For the moment, therefore, Seoul and Pyongyang are alone at the table, but the fact they are there together at all is a step forward.
In a further goodwill gesture, South Korea on Monday offered to send vaccine and medical equipment to help contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the North.
The offer came days after the North confirmed cases of the highly contagious livestock disease at a pig farm in a suburb of Pyongyang.
The start of this year’s military exercises overlaps with the first reunion for more than three years of families divided by the Korean war – an event that has raised hopes of greater North-South co-operation.
Pyongyang had initially insisted that the joint exercises be postponed until after the reunion finishes on Tuesday, but Seoul refused and – in a rare concession – the North allowed the family gathering to go ahead as scheduled.
The annual “Key Resolve” and “Foal Eagle” drills – routinely condemned by North Korea as rehearsals for invasion – will last until 18 April and involve a combined total of 12,700 US troops and many more from South Korea.
Key Resolve lasts just over a week and is a largely computer-simulated exercise, while the eight-week Foal Eagle drill involves air, ground and naval field training. Seoul and Washington insist they are both defensive in nature, playing out various scenarios to combat a North Korean invasion.
Last year’s drills fuelled a protracted surge in military tensions, with Pyongyang threatening a pre-emptive nuclear strike, and nuclear-capable US stealth bombers making dummy runs over the Korean peninsula.
US defence officials have indicated – in an apparent effort to mollify the North – that this year’s drills will be toned down, with no aircraft carrier and no strategic bombers.
However, the South Korean defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok insisted on Monday that there would be “no readjustment” in the scale of the manoeuvres.
Saturday’s edition of the North’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun slammed the exercises as a “vicious attempt” to undo the goodwill generated by the family reunion.
Such rhetoric was only to be expected, and analysts say the North is unlikely to go much further for fear of jeopardising the credit it sees itself as having banked by agreeing to the divided family meetings.
“The North’s strategy is clearly to gain some economic benefit on the back of the family reunion,” said Ahn Chan-il, director of the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul.
In particular, North Korea wants the South to resume regular tours to its Mount Kumgang resort, which provided a much-needed source of hard currency in the past.
South Korea suspended the tours after a female tourist was shot dead by North Korean security guards in 2008.
The South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, has made it clear that Seoul considers the reunion a first step – suggesting her administration is willing to consider some reciprocity down the road.
John Delury, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University, believes Park and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, are at a point where their respective national interests could dovetail to their mutual benefit.
“Once she begins to act with resolve things could move quickly if Kim is ready to play ball,” Delury wrote on the closely followed North-Korea-focused website 38 North.
The North’s threat to cancel the reunion over the joint drills was withdrawn during talks earlier this month that marked the highest-level official contact between the two Koreas for seven years.
Both sides agreed to keep the dialogue going, although without any specific timetable or agenda. Any further progress is likely to be limited.
While there are numerous confidence-building measures that could be put in place, nothing is going to escape the shadow cast by North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Pyongyang would like direct talks with Washington, but the US secretary of state, John Kerry, reiterated during a recent visit to Seoul that there could be no dialogue until the North showed a tangible commitment towards denuclearisation.
For the moment, therefore, Seoul and Pyongyang are alone at the table, but the fact they are there together at all is a step forward.
In a further goodwill gesture, South Korea on Monday offered to send vaccine and medical equipment to help contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the North.
The offer came days after the North confirmed cases of the highly contagious livestock disease at a pig farm in a suburb of Pyongyang.
Russia Says Ukraine Was “Stolen” in “An Armed Mutiny” — Medvedev questions legitimacy of Ukraine’s government
February 24, 2014
MOSCOW, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Russia
said on Monday it would not deal with those it said stole power in “an
armed mutiny” in Ukraine, sending the strongest signal yet that Moscow
does not want to be drawn into a bidding war with the West in its
southern neighbour.
Querying the legitimacy of the new pro-European authorities after the Ukrainian parliament’s removal of the Kremlin-backed president following months of unrest, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he saw no one to do business with in Kiev.
He did not declare a $15-billion bailout for Ukraine dead, although its future is in question, but signalled that a deal which cut the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas had an expiry date and that any extension would have to be negotiated.
With President Vladimir Putin still basking in the afterglow of Russia’s success at the Sochi Winter Olympics, it has been left to aides to address a crisis that has not turned out as he wanted and reduced Russian clout in Ukraine.
Putin’s silence about the fall of Viktor Yanukovich has been filled by allies’ accusations of betrayal in Ukraine, of a Western-orchestrated coup and suggestions that there could be a split or civil war in the ex-Soviet republic of 46 million.
“Strictly speaking there is no one to talk to there. There are big doubts about the legitimacy of a whole series of organs of power that are now functioning there,” Medvedev told Russian news agencies.
“Some of our foreign partners think differently, they believe they are legitimate … I don’t know which constitution they’ve read … But it seems to me it is an aberration to call legitimate what is essentially the result of an armed mutiny.”
Ukraine’s new authorities issued an arrest warrant on Monday for mass murder against Yanukovich, now on the run after being toppled by bloody street protests in which police snipers killed opposition demonstrators.
The former Soviet republic appealed on Monday for financial assistance to stave off bankruptcy; its debts include more than $1 billion in unpaid gas bills to Russia for 2013.
Prices are negotiated each quarter – one of the last levers Moscow could pull in a battle with the West for influence in Ukraine, which was under Moscow’s thumb in the Soviet era.
“The decision in the gas sphere, which was adopted, has concrete time periods for implementation,” Medvedev said.
“What will happen after these expire is a question for discussion with the leadership of Ukrainian companies and the Ukrainian government, if one emerges there.”
WAITING FOR A SIGN
Officials at state gas company Gazprom made clear they were waiting for a signal from the Kremlin to act.
The Foreign Ministry also took a firm line, portraying the new authorities in Kiev as extremists and accusing the West of making “unilateral, geopolitical calculations”.
The strong language is partly intended to sell the new situation to a Russian public which until this weekend had been told Moscow had backed a winner in Yanukovich.
On the air waves and in print, outrage and dismay over Yanukovich’s political demise has given way to derision towards a leader who allowed Ukraine to slip from his grasp and open the gates of power to brothers who “in fact, hate us”.
As the popular Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets summed it up: “Yanukovich falls – Whatever”.
While Putin made little effort to hide his distaste in dealing with Yanukovich, a former electrician who vacillated over closer ties with the EU or with Russia, he may now have to argue that both he and his successors are illegitimate rulers.
“Yanukovich is now a wanted man. Just four days ago, everything depended on him and he was needed by everyone. Now he’s just needed by those who want to arrest him,” said Alexei Pushkov, a Putin loyalist and a senior member of parliament.
“When we talk about ‘brotherly’ Ukraine, we must take into account that half of the population does not consider us brothers, and the radical part just hates us.”
By playing for time, Putin may be banking on Ukraine’s complex make-up – Russian-speaking regions to the east and south and Ukrainian-speaking regions in the west – complicating EU and U.S. efforts to unite Ukraine’s new leadership.
He may alternatively have decided that the economic cost of winning over Ukraine in December was too high, and that it is better to let the EU foot the bill. Or, as one Ukrainian analyst suggested, it may not have a clear policy yet.
“Russia has no strategy on Ukraine at the moment. Russia is not delighted with what happened, but has already shown that the relations between the two countries have cooled,” said Volodymyr Fedosenko of the Penta think tank in Kiev.
“Russia will express doubts about the legitimacy of the new government and indirectly support resistance, but Russia will be forced to recognise the new authorities because there is no alternative.”
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, speaking here in Sochi,
voiced grave doubts over the legitimacy of the authorities in Ukraine
after President Viktor Yanukovich’s ousting
Newly appointed Ukrainian acting Interior Affairs Minister Arsen
Avakov talking with supporters in front of the Ukrainian Parliament in
Kiev
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy Catherine Ashton (right) speaking with Parliament
Speaker and newly-appointed interim president of Ukraine Olexandr
Turchynov (left) during their meeting in Kiev
Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovich signed an EU-mediated
peace deal with opposition leaders at the weekend before he was ousted
People lay flowers on a barricade to pay tribute to those who were killed during the recent violent protests in Kiev
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton places flowers at a memorial
for the people killed in clashes with the police in central Kiev
Ukrainians lay flowers in memory of those who were killed during the recent violent protests
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2566794/Kremlin-brands-Ukrainian-revolutionaries-MUTINEERS-warns-West-encouraging-terrorism-supporting-claims-surface-deposed-president-guarded-Russia.html#ixzz2uGZSmdPr
.
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Querying the legitimacy of the new pro-European authorities after the Ukrainian parliament’s removal of the Kremlin-backed president following months of unrest, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he saw no one to do business with in Kiev.
He did not declare a $15-billion bailout for Ukraine dead, although its future is in question, but signalled that a deal which cut the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas had an expiry date and that any extension would have to be negotiated.
With President Vladimir Putin still basking in the afterglow of Russia’s success at the Sochi Winter Olympics, it has been left to aides to address a crisis that has not turned out as he wanted and reduced Russian clout in Ukraine.
Putin’s silence about the fall of Viktor Yanukovich has been filled by allies’ accusations of betrayal in Ukraine, of a Western-orchestrated coup and suggestions that there could be a split or civil war in the ex-Soviet republic of 46 million.
“Strictly speaking there is no one to talk to there. There are big doubts about the legitimacy of a whole series of organs of power that are now functioning there,” Medvedev told Russian news agencies.
“Some of our foreign partners think differently, they believe they are legitimate … I don’t know which constitution they’ve read … But it seems to me it is an aberration to call legitimate what is essentially the result of an armed mutiny.”
Ukraine’s new authorities issued an arrest warrant on Monday for mass murder against Yanukovich, now on the run after being toppled by bloody street protests in which police snipers killed opposition demonstrators.
The former Soviet republic appealed on Monday for financial assistance to stave off bankruptcy; its debts include more than $1 billion in unpaid gas bills to Russia for 2013.
Prices are negotiated each quarter – one of the last levers Moscow could pull in a battle with the West for influence in Ukraine, which was under Moscow’s thumb in the Soviet era.
“The decision in the gas sphere, which was adopted, has concrete time periods for implementation,” Medvedev said.
“What will happen after these expire is a question for discussion with the leadership of Ukrainian companies and the Ukrainian government, if one emerges there.”
WAITING FOR A SIGN
Officials at state gas company Gazprom made clear they were waiting for a signal from the Kremlin to act.
The Foreign Ministry also took a firm line, portraying the new authorities in Kiev as extremists and accusing the West of making “unilateral, geopolitical calculations”.
The strong language is partly intended to sell the new situation to a Russian public which until this weekend had been told Moscow had backed a winner in Yanukovich.
On the air waves and in print, outrage and dismay over Yanukovich’s political demise has given way to derision towards a leader who allowed Ukraine to slip from his grasp and open the gates of power to brothers who “in fact, hate us”.
As the popular Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets summed it up: “Yanukovich falls – Whatever”.
While Putin made little effort to hide his distaste in dealing with Yanukovich, a former electrician who vacillated over closer ties with the EU or with Russia, he may now have to argue that both he and his successors are illegitimate rulers.
“Yanukovich is now a wanted man. Just four days ago, everything depended on him and he was needed by everyone. Now he’s just needed by those who want to arrest him,” said Alexei Pushkov, a Putin loyalist and a senior member of parliament.
“When we talk about ‘brotherly’ Ukraine, we must take into account that half of the population does not consider us brothers, and the radical part just hates us.”
By playing for time, Putin may be banking on Ukraine’s complex make-up – Russian-speaking regions to the east and south and Ukrainian-speaking regions in the west – complicating EU and U.S. efforts to unite Ukraine’s new leadership.
He may alternatively have decided that the economic cost of winning over Ukraine in December was too high, and that it is better to let the EU foot the bill. Or, as one Ukrainian analyst suggested, it may not have a clear policy yet.
“Russia has no strategy on Ukraine at the moment. Russia is not delighted with what happened, but has already shown that the relations between the two countries have cooled,” said Volodymyr Fedosenko of the Penta think tank in Kiev.
“Russia will express doubts about the legitimacy of the new government and indirectly support resistance, but Russia will be forced to recognise the new authorities because there is no alternative.”
.
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Thailand: The country risks “collapse” unless it pulls back from escalating violence, army chief warns
February 24, 2014
Bangkok (AFP) – Thailand’s army chief warned Monday the country risks “collapse” unless it pulls back from escalating violence after attacks in recent days left three children dead in the kingdom’s worst political unrest since 2010.
Twenty-one people have now been
killed and more than 700 wounded in violence linked to almost four
months of anti-government demonstrations.
Protesters want to unseat Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and
dilute the influence on Thai politics of her billionaire brother
Thaksin, a former premier who lives in exile to avoid jail in Thailand
for corruption.A brother and sister, aged four and six respectively, and a 59-year-old woman died after a grenade attack on Sunday afternoon on a busy Bangkok shopping district.
Police said the grenade was fired into the crowd by unknown attackers from an M79 shoulder-held launcher.
They said an officer also died on Monday, nearly a week after being shot in the head in a gunbattle with protesters in Bangkok’s historic heart, a stone’s throw from the city’s backpacker zone, which killed five others — including another policeman.
Soldiers inspect the site of bomb blast near an anti-government
rally in Bangkok on February 23, 2014 (AFP Photo/Pornchai
Kittiwongsakul)
Attacks have mainly been mounted in Bangkok, although a drive-by
shooting late Saturday on a protest rally in the eastern province of
Trat killed a five-year-old girl.The current unrest is the most severe in the bitterly divided kingdom since protests by Thaksin-allied “Red Shirts” against a previous government in 2010 sparked clashes and a military crackdown that left more than 90 people dead.
“As days go by, there will be more violence until it cannot be controlled,” army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha warned in a rare televised live speech.
“If losses continue, the country will collapse for sure and nobody will win or lose,” he said.
Prayut urged reconciliation and talks. He said troops are “ready to do their duty” but “do not want to use force and weapons to unnecessarily fight with the Thai people”.
He did not elaborate.
Supporters of Thaksin have accused the demonstrators of trying to incite the military to seize power again, in a country which has seen 18 successful or attempted coups since 1932.
The army chief’s comments are closely scrutinised for signs of possible intervention.
- Violence ‘hard to control’-
The head of the government’s security response to the protests also predicted more unrest.
…
The government says it has been hamstrung by a court ruling last week banning it from using force to disperse peaceful protesters.
Authorities say semi-automatic weapons fired at them last week indicate the protesters have heavily armed support, while television footage has shown apparent protesters firing handguns in clashes.
The shocking deaths of the three children over the weekend earned swift condemnation from UN chief Ban Ki-Moon. Prime Minister Yingluck labelled them “terrorist acts”.
The UN children’s fund UNICEF also urged protesters to keep children away from the rallies, which have for many weeks been treated as boisterous family occasions.
Yingluck spent Monday inspecting local produce in a province 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of Bangkok, in a move seized on by her opponents as a sign she is on the run.
But a government spokeswoman told AFP she would return to Bangkok by the evening.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who as deputy premier at the time oversaw the 2010 crackdown on the Red Shirts, said the government bore responsibility for the weekend violence.
“We use peaceful tactics… in past four months, we have never created any violence,” he told a rally.
Hatred for Thaksin drives the anti-government movement. Protesters allege he uses Yingluck as a proxy to run the government and has fostered widespread corruption, including buying elctions wins for the Shinawatra family.
They want to topple Yingluck and install an unelected “people’s council” to run the country to oversee loosely-defined reforms, before new elections are held in around a year to 18 months.
But Thaksin and his sister enjoy strong support in the rural north and northeast and are expected to have swept a snap poll called at the start of the month in a failed bid to defuse the turmoil.
The Red Shirts have vowed to defend the government, but have have son far refrained from coming onto the streets.
File photo shows Thailand’s army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha speaking during a press conference at army headquarter in Bangkok on December 27, 2013 (AFP Photo/)
Obama’s Budget Cuts Could Shrink U.S. Army to Pre-WWII Levels
February 24, 2014
By ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer
Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel is recommending shrinking the Army to its smallest size since the buildup to U.S. involvement in World War II in an effort to balance postwar defense needs with budget realities, defense officials said Monday.
Hagel is expected to announce that and other recommendations Monday in a speech at the Pentagon outlining his priorities for next year’s defense budget.
Army leaders have been saying for months that they expect their size would shrink as the nation prepares to end its combat role in Afghanistan this year.
The Army, which is the largest of the armed services, currently has 522,000 active-duty soldiers and is scheduled to shrink to 490,000 by 2015 from a wartime peak of 570,000. Hagel is expected to propose cutting it further to between 440,000 and 450,000.
Earlier this month, Gen. Ray Odierno, Army chief of staff, told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations that an army of 420,000 would be too small for a world that has such an uncertain national security landscape. The minimum size, he said, would be about 450,000. He said shrinking to 420,000 would make a big difference in the capabilities of the force.
“I’m on the record saying, as a minimum, I think our end strength needs to be around 450,000; 330,000 in the active, 335,000 in the Guard, and about 195,000 in the U.S. Army Reserve. And then we would be able to do it — at higher risk, but we should be able to do it,” he said.
Odierno has also said that whatever the future size of the Army, it must adapt to conditions that are different from what many soldiers have become accustomed to during more than a decade of war. He said many have the misperception that the Army is no longer busy.
“People tend to think that the Army is out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and there is not much going on,” he said Jan. 23 at an Army forum. “The Army is not standing still. The Army is doing many, many, many things in order for us to shape the future environment and prevent conflict around the world.”
The last time the active-duty Army was below 500,000 was in 2005, when it stood at 492,000. Its post-World War II low was 480,000 in 2001, according to historical tables provided by the Army on Monday. In 1940 the Army had 267,000 active-duty members, and it surged to 1.46 million the following year as the U.S. approached entry into World War II.
Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said Monday that Hagel consulted closely with the military service chiefs on how to balance defense and budget-saving requirements.
“He has worked hard with the services to ensure that we continue to stand for the defense of our national interests — that whatever budget priorities we establish, we do so in keeping with our defense strategy and with a strong commitment to the men and women in uniform and to their families, Kirby said.
“But he has also said that we have to face the realities of our time. We must be pragmatic. We can’t escape tough choices. He and the chiefs are willing to make those choices,” Kirby said.
Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.
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