Latest Articles about Military/Security
Bakiyev Pleases Moscow, Seeks to Oust U.S. Military Base
At a February 3 press conference in Moscow Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced that his government had decided to shut down the U.S. military base at the Manas airport. Although Bakiyev had previously been playing with the idea of ousting the U.S. base, his statements... MORE
Personnel Changes in PLA Ranks: Chen Xiaogong
The top-brass of the Chinese leadership started the Lunar New Year on a sprint. The year of the ox, which began on January 26 in the Gregorian calendar, was marked by fervent planning for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s trip to the World Economic Forum in... MORE
Kazakhstan Raising Its Afghanistan Profile
On January 28 the United States announced plans to purchase a "significant part" of the goods needed to supply its forces in Afghanistan from Kazakhstan. U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Richard Hoagland clarified these intentions in the context of the U.S.-Kazakh agreement on the transit of... MORE
Moscow Sends the West Friendly Signals While Relations with Georgia Worsen
On January 28 Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed official in the Russian Defense Ministry that plans to deploy Iskander SS-26 missiles in the Kaliningrad region, which borders NATO member nations Poland and Lithuania, have been halted. Last November President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to station... MORE
Russian Military Reform Delayed by Financial Crisis
Russia’s agenda for military reform, announced by Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov in October 2008, is facing revisions and delays due to the global financial crisis. This has also affected the arms industry, as there are fewer customers for the purchase of military hardware, and has... MORE
Kazakhstan’s Peacekeepers Penciled in for Afghanistan?
On January 14 Commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) General David Petraeus, visited Kazakhstan. Among the key senior Kazakh military officers he met with was Lieutenant-General Bolat Sembinov, the deputy defense minister responsible for cooperation with the West. Ostensibly they discussed progress in implementing... MORE
Bakiyev Strengthens Control over Armed Forces Ahead of Opposition Revolts
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s recent personnel reshuffles have shown that he is concerned about a potentially unstable spring as well as presidential elections tentatively scheduled for 2010. Bakiyev has replaced all heads of security structures and revamped cadres in his administration. Furthermore, in December he... MORE
The Media Discuss the Idea of Turkish Troop Deployment in Gaza
Whenever a crisis occurs on the Gaza Strip, the possibility of Turkish troops being deployed on the border between Egypt and Gaza is brought up. In 2007 Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas asked for Turkish troop deployment in Gaza, but Hamas rejected it (Zaman, July 3,... MORE
New Advances in PLA Battlefield Aerospace and ISR
A profound transformation is taking place in Chinese battlefield aerospace, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLAs) xinxihua zhanchang (informationalized battlefield) program is assisting its armed forces in attaining information domination on the battlefield. As part of this program, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems are undergoing... MORE
Recent Trends in Russo-Chinese Military Relations
The Russo-Chinese relationship is a multi-dimensional one. Thus progress in each aspect of those ties is uneven. For instance, Russia has consistently failed to satisfy China’s demands for energy, which Russia regards as being excessively one-sided insofar as the apportionment of benefits is concerned. China... MORE