Enter the Maoists?

With the end of the monarchy in Nepal, the country is geared for a Government where one sees the participation of various political outfits of every hue and ideology. The latest to join the ranks are the Maoists who have so long been identified by their armed rebellion against, political legitimacy. Though the transition to a democratic government seems far from problems the mood is optimistic bolstered by the fight for democracy also advocated and ushered in Nepal with the blessings of the Bush administration in the US.The entry into the main political fray by the Maoists is though challenged by long-held principles of the country that have opposed to the  involvement of  states or groups thought of as rogues. The (Maoist) Communist Party of Nepal which has won the majority of seats in the constituent assembly elections, is on the U.S. Terrorist Exclusion List. This also implies that members of the same are barred from travelling or owning property in the States.

In what is being termed of as a shift in US think tanks, top U.S. diplomats met with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, though of as probable next as prime minister. This though contradicts statements made by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Evan Feigenbaum, who told reporters that the Maoists are still on the terrorist lists.

An electoral victory for the Maoist’s leads to problems for some of Nepal’s neighbour’s especially India which has been providing military training to the countries army. It is feared that the Maoist electoral victory will lead to strengthening of Maoist rebel activities with the Naxalities within India too. The Maoist leader Prachanda has however denied any links with Naxalites in India.

Both India and China, important neighbours for Nepal have shown keen interest in Nepalese political developments. On its part Maoist leader Prachanda has said that Nepal would try and maintain good relations with both the countries.

The new Nepalese Government will face plenty of political and economic challenges that are predominant in the country. According to sources in the Asian Development Bank, Nepal is still one of the poorest nations in the world. According to recent reports by World Food Program, about 2.5 million people in rural areas of Nepal are in need of immediate food assistance. This is in addition to an additional 3.9 million people who face a risk of starvation due to food insecurities and increasing prices of food.

Another of the major problems lies in deciding the future of twenty-three thousand guerrilla fighters of the People’s Liberation Army, who are in the UN-monitored cease-fire camps. According to Prachanda, they should be integrated into the existing 95,000 Nepalese army but this suggestion has been opposed by the military administrators.

India ‘Star Wars’ in Space

The defense department in India is considering outer space as a new military medium. Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, India’s Defense Minister, announced the creation of the Integrated Space Cell. The reason given for this construction was a supposed threat to India’s assets in space.

The cell will be operated by representatives of India’s three sectors of military forces, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO,) and the civilian Department of Space. The threats will be examined in more detail once the cell is built. The defense minister said “Offensive counter-space systems like anti-satellite weaponry, new classes of heavy-lift and small boosters and an improved array of military space systems have emerged in our neighborhood.” Of course, he would like to take measure to counter these efforts before they become more of an issue. 

The cell has supposedly been in operation for a number of months, but was only recently announced. The Integrated Defense Services headquarters of India’s Ministry of Defense leads the project.

Around 16 months prior to the previous chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal Shashi Tyagi, stated that India was “in the process of setting up an aerospace command to exploit outer space by integrating its capabilities” the defense minister revealed the cell plans.

Tyagi’s statement came shortly after China used a ballistic missile to shoot down one of its own outdated satellites. This proved that China was among one of three known countries with the technology to take out a satellite. This probably hastened India’s decision, but more general reasons such as the reliance on space communcations.

Lawrence Prabhakar, a professor of political science said “such a cell is an organizational initiative, essential to the operational requirements of space-based assets for dual civilian-military operations and applications.” Prabhakar also stated “with the army, the air force and the navy relying on space-based communication satellites for reconnaissance, surveillance or operations and the Indian armed forces adopting a joint doctrine that enhances greater lateral integration between the three services, an Integrated Space Cell has become a necessity.”

India does have quite a bit of investment in space technology. It has had great success in satellite launching. In March it set a world record for successfully placing 10 satellites in one mission. The space program plans to have mission to space, the moon, and possibly even Mars. Currently India’s satellites contribute to development, education, weather, defense, and emergency communications. It is 40% cheaper to build a satellite in India compared to the US and European countries.

Aerospace command had been more loosely discussed in the Indian Air Force since the late 1990’s. Now, at least according to Prabkar, it will probably still be another 15 or 20 years before the systems are fully in place.

Buy Call on the China market

Jim Rogers, investment guru, issued a “buy call” recently on the market in China. The mainland’s benchmark CSI index is decreased by more than 50% from its peak in October. Experts wonder if the market has finally hit bottom.Technically and fundamentally analyzing a market is a dual-effort that is considered to be the most effective form of analysis. Pressure builds from inflation, and the stronger currency and rising interest rates and hindering Shanghai and Hong Kong exchange. Fundamentally, however, China has an expansive economy.

Higher interest rates in China would damage the majority of the market, especially financial firms. The yuan’s value has risen 6.5% compared to the US dollar. This strengthening is however harming Chinese exports. On the other hand many Chinese companies are benefiting from the new strength because it makes manufacturing such things as oil, steel, and copper cheaper and therefore turning more of a profit.

The government in China hasn’t raised interest rates this year, mostly because it already raised them six times last year. Inflation was at around 8.1% for the first five months of the year. Gains made in the consumer price index slowed this to 7.7% in May, while in February it was 8.7%. According to a Bloomberg report May was the record month for the past three years for rises in producer prices.

On a more technical side, things are a little better. Markets in China are fading since the October high. This fade is similar to the fade shown by US technology, but worse. This is because individual investors in China are behaving with more anxiety, apparently from lack of experience. This seems to be even more of an issue than it was in 2000 regarding technology.

Between 2005 and 2007 China exhibited a huge market run-up. The Shanghai market rose nearly 500% during that time. Indicators during this time showed a short sell of the market.

Even with this result of a fundamental and technical analysis, it is not necessarily recommended that investors stay out of China. One should consider stocks in sectors that are unphased by the business cycle that exhibit a strong rising secular trend in cases like this. A sector that seems to next to immune to the business cycle in this case is health care. As China attempts to make its economy more private the system is becoming dismantled, and that is the problem. China spends only 6% of its GDP on healthcare. This is even lower than Japan and the US, and in the US the amount (14%) is commonly criticized for being far lower than Canada and European countries.

Ill Chinese citizens are forced to pay their healthcare upfront, and there is a serious shortage of doctors. Citizens without funds are not permitted to receive treatment even in emergency cases. The cost of medical insurance is too high for low and even many middle class citizens. Furthermore, hospitals and pharmacies have been raising prices of medicines up to 20x cost. Often drugs are ridiculously overprescribed, and thus the medical system is being turned into a profit center. Over half of what patients in China pay for healthcare goes to pharmacy. Many people are resorting to bribery to get proper care.

To keep this situation from getting worse, the Chinese government is going to have to significantly increase spending on healthcare.

Biofield signed a deal to provide new breast cancer technology to a Chinese healthcare network and has gained technical strength in doing this. More of these opportunities are going to reveal themselves in China, and it is predicted there will be a great number of them with time. 

Biotech in general is good in China, in addition to healthcare. Stock here is not driven by the business cycle but instead is reliant on media and pharmaceutical advancements.

The US Food and Drug Administration agreed with China to open three offices, in China, this year. A significant portion of US biotech is going Chinese, due to lower costs in development, testing, and drug research. The regulations are also less stringent, which speeds up the whole process.

This isn’t in support of swan diving into healthcare and biotech investment, but the propects are promising nonetheless. Some things need to give in the Chinese economy and healthcare system, the causes are there and the effects will be revealing themselves very soon.

Managing Asia’s Urbanization

Asian cities are growing at a rate of roughly 100,000 people each day. Due to this and other factors officials are having to re-plan city management so that they are socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Financing such changes is a bigger obstacle than simply recognizing where the problems lie and how to address them. The World Cities Summit, held in Singapore, is a series of conferences that addressed this and several related issues. The President of the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda, discussed the need for reform and financial issues in the most detail at The World Cities summit on June 25^th.Kuroda announced “I am proud to say that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is working very successfully with Singapore in both the water and urban management sectors, with the aim of spreading best practices throughout developing Asia and the Pacific.”

Kuroda mentioned the changes needed are on a  “magnitude never before attempted by humanity” and that “cities in Asia have populations and economies the size of nation states…for most major cities in Asia, growth rates are too rapid for their infrastructure to keep up.” Karuda mentioned a $30 billion shortfall in urban infrastructure investments is recorded every year, which of course makes efforts all the more challenging.

Kuroda announced the efforts made, in his own words “our joint initiatives include the Asia Training and Research Initiative on Urban Management (ATRIUM) ; a regional network of knowledge hubs on water, under the auspices of the Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF); and the Asian Water Development Outlook 2007, which was featured prominently at the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit held in Beppu City, Japan last December. We have translated the report in Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and Vietnamese to reach a wider audience.” Kuroda stated one of the most important messages in the report is that water is crucial to larger development agendas such as energy, food, environment, and industrial policy. Policies in all related areas will be influenced by the factors of demographic transitioning, advancement of technology and communication, free trade, social activism, and globalization. New approaches are also needed on energy use, the management of household rubbish and other solid waste, sewage, water supply and other urban infrastructure issues. The report outlines a new financial structuring the will allow cities to gain access to over $1.5 trillion in available savings and will encourage private sector participation as well as local capital markets.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also published a report entitled “Managing Asian Cities” that outlines how the cities can meet the goals to overcome their problems. According to the report the biggest obstacles are coordination, finance, and capacity as opposed to technology, money, and skills. Energy use and waste management are other issues that need to be addressed. The report states “Effective urban management is needed to counter this unparalleled growth but it is lacking, and the results are clearly evident in pollution, no drinkable water for over 50% of urban residents, half a billion slum dwellers and crippling traffic congestion.”

Kuroda outlined other efforts in his speech which lasted approximately 15 minutes during the early part of the third day of the conference. “Our urban lending, at around $1 billion per year on average, is becoming more flexible and responsive through, among others, the use of multi-tranche and local currency finance…As a partner in the Cities Development Initiative for Asia, we help city governments coordinate and integrate the many activities involved in implementing urban investments, including funding for environmental infrastructure. With Singapore, we are implementing the Asian Training and Research Initiative for Urban Management, and we have recently established the Asia Infrastructure Project Development Company, together with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise and 3 Singaporean water companies.” His final comment on financing was ” It is our hope that the annual Singapore International Water Week and the bi-annual World Cities Summit will advance the debate on urban issues in Asia and address the financing needs for urban infrastructure.”

Thousands of delegates from all over the world attended the World Cities Summit, which went from June 23^rd to 25th, to continue discussing sustainable development and “livable and vibrant cities.”

The Asia Tomorrow newsgroup conducted an interview with another high level official on this topic. Ms. Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, Vice President of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development of the Asian Development Bank answers key questions in the following.

The Asia Tomorrow: To start off, in your opinion, what are the few topmost pressing problems of growth and urbanization in emerging economies, in particular Asia?

Schaefer-Preuss: Well, as we have discussed here, one real problem is that the mega cities are already very big, but they are becoming more attractive, too attractive for the people in the countryside so more and more come (into the cities) at even higher speeds until the cities cannot absorb allthese people anymore and the water supply and (adequate) transportation is not available.

The energy system/supply is not really conducive, and there are many problems with the infrastructure. One other pressing problem is the stress on the environment, the climate change-related aspect.

AT: In a session which you chaired here at the World Cities Summit, you’ve highlighted issues of inadequate environmental infrastructure*. How would its development will impact resource sustainability and clean water access in poorer Asian regions?
* (such as  transport, solid waste management and sanitation)

SP: In many cities, for example Bangkok, the water level is going down because of the need of additional water supply, so you have to dig deeper and deeper into the earth to get the water needed for the growing number of people living in the city. Then water pollution is increasing because the drainage system cannot absorb all the waste water coming.

AT: In some parts of Asia, the drainage problem might not be wholly infrastructural, but due to a lack of cleanliness. For instance, people littering and cluttering the drains, sewage not disposed properly. What are your thoughts on that?

SP: Well you will have to invest more into the sewage and drainage systems… into energy systems, water pipes, and when the communities do not have the funds available, what to do?

AT: Could you cite us a recent significant example whereby the ADB  has advised an Asian developing economy on improving its environmental infrastructure, in particular one that has made major changes.

SP: We’ve got big programs, for example in China. There, we’re looking into river basins, studying the situations of water quality in these river basins, and advising how to improve water quality, how to invest in infrastructure in order to clean up the water using all that is available.

AT: China is such a huge country, wouldn’t it take a long time to complete those projects?

SP: Yes, that is true, that is true.

AT: In that case, what do you believe private companies in the Asian region could embark on to address the environmental infrastructure issues and improve the whole situation?

SP: Well, private companies first look into what they’ll get out of their investment. That means, they could partner with a public organization. For example, the Asian Development Bank could do a public-private partnership arrangement with public funds and then match them with private funds to increase investments (in environmental infrastructure), and get private companies involved in the investment. The private companies will have more interest in investing through joint ventures.

AT: Do you think private companies have done too little in this respect? Or how much do you think they have done to help?

SP: Private companies, for sure, could do more… but normally they’re not so prepared to bear increasing risks.

— The rate of growth in Asia is unparalled by other nations. London took 130 years to grow from 1 million to 8 million residents. Dhaka, the Bangladeshi Capital, is expected to grow from 12 million to 22 million in the next ten years.

Finding Hope In Asia For Global Economic Recovery

With the economic sentiment in the usual financial Western greats at a low, the world is looking East to help boost global economic growth. Last year’s subprime crisis has hit the U.S. and is spreading to Europe, and this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia has brought attention to how Asia is a contrasting spark of hope in the “gloom and doom” felt in the West. This was a view echoed by the WEF Panellists such as Lord Levene, Chairman of Lloyd’s, and Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej & Boyce, India. But is this view premature in these times of rapid and somewhat uncertain economic change?

Asia’s phenomenal growth has of late outstripped that of the West consistently — by large margins. And though Asia is gradually being affected by the reverberations of Wall Street’s losses, the region’s growth figures do not appear tainted at all. Its largely-emerging economies attract exponentially increasing inflows of Foreign Direct investment (FDIs) and are hotbeds for fund managers and Western investors. In today’s WEF on East Asia, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai mentioned the FDIs his country was receiving — $20.3 billion in 2007 and $15.3 billion from January to May 2008.

Any reasonable person would look at these figures in a reflection of how investors have started to channel their funds to the East, thereby acting as a catalyst to Asia’s accelerated economic growth.

Even if we assume that Asia can keep up its growth momentum in future years, however, we must not overlook other macroeconomic measures of the Asian hotbeds such as Vietnam, China and India. Inflation, overall macroeconomic stability and social safety are concerns which the respective governments face. Inflation, for

Then there are the long-haul effects of globalization. Asian governments in previous years have actively promoted their production exports with a good degree of success. But this has led to a higher external risk exposure in the form of vulnerable price indices. The U.S. and Europe have been large consumers of Asian exports, and with the economcic downturn at home, they are not buying as much from Asia. As such, Asian countries with high net exports will tend to suffer from significantly weakened demand.

Making the situation worse are higher prices of fuel and food prices, which has resulted in protests in affected countries. Demonstrations and civil unrest have since occurred in the Philippines and Indonesia, which present a worry for their politicians.

As such, the overall ability of Asia to maintain its strong growth and resilience against falling demand from the West, exceedingly high price indices and inflationary pressures has been called into question. Despite its contentious position, the general consensus at the WEF on East Asia is that Asia will retain this much-needed ability.

This stems from a number of factors. Domestic demand in Asian countries has been consistent in and healthy in recent years. Intra-Asian trade is increasing faster than the region’s international trade with the rest of the world. Asian corporations boast healthy balance sheets. In essence, the hope placed on Asia to lift the global economy out of its gloom is not unfounded.

Asia will continue to see economic prosperity should it contain the negative macroeconomic side-effects. Given a sound balance of the two, Asia’s economic dynamism will undoubtedly lighten much of the burden on the global economy, albeit not being a cure-all.

China takes on the US - in space

Chinese military experts believe a confrontation in space, probably with the United States, is inevitable. What they haven’t said is whether they expect to win.

Two disarmament officials with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) this week accused Washington in an assessment of the global weapons buildup of fueling an arms race aimed at controlling “the commanding heights”.

“In the not too distant future, outer space will certainly become a stage for struggle between countries,” charged Xu Nengwu, of China’s National Defense Science and Technology University.

Simialry, Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of staff of the PLA, speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore at the weekend, was less than subtle. He did not mention the US at all (other than including Hurricane Katrina in the list of recent natural disasters), but did identify “expansion of military alliance” and “development and expansion of missile defense system” among the major security challenges the region faces.

The PLA has issued similar gloomy predictions before, usually accompanied by demands for a negotiated disarmament treaty, that were seen as an admission China lacked the ability to compete - and might be using as a cover for its own lagging research efforts.

But since they successfully shot down an obsolete weather satellite with a missile in an outer orbit in January 2007, the Chinese armed forces have been operating from a position of relative strength.

So powerful was the impact from the four-stage rocket, which was traveling at nearly 29,000 kilometers an hour when it struck the satellite, that it scattered debris halfway around the globe. A definite footprint of strategic intent.

No surprise then, that the Pentagon responded in February this year by shooting down one of its own wayward satellites over the Pacific Ocean with a rocket, thus shattering a 1980s undertaking not to conduct antisatellite (ASAT) tests.

Thirty-two countries are known to have a missile capability, including Asian foes India and Pakistan, South and North Korea, Israel, Syria, Taiwan, Iran, Vietnam, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Russia, China and the US. Any could technically wage a military campaign in space, even if it were limited to ground-to-air strikes.

Most of these countries are signatories to the Outer Space Treaty, an agreement approved by the United Nations in 1967 after tortuous negotiations between the US and the Soviet Union - though China is one of the few nations to fully accede to its provisions.

The Chinese have noted, with support from some peace organizations, that the treaty is a Cold War relic fashioned in an era when the concept of futuristic Star Wars armed orbiters was the preserve of science fiction writers.

Core commitments are that signatories will not place “nuclear or any other weapons of mass destruction”, military installations or fortifications in orbit around the Earth or on any celestial body, undertake testing of weapons there or conduct military maneuvers.

Conventional weapons based in space are totally legal. And there is no prohibition on the firing of ground-based missiles into space, as both the US and Soviet Union were developing intercontinental missiles and peaceful space programs when the treaty was signed.

Similarly, there is wide scope for interpreting “weapons of mass destruction”; as US defense officials have pointed out, practically anything that could be propelled into space could be used to ram a satellite without violating the treaty.

China has been at the forefront of efforts to expand the accord; yet even its version, introduced in the UN as a draft treaty in 2002, falls far short of the moratorium being sought by disarmament groups.

Backed by an eclectic group that included Russia (which superseded the Soviet Union as a treaty signatory), Zimbabwe, Syria, Belarus and Vietnam, the draft proposed the deployment of all space-based weapons. Again, the ground missiles were overlooked.

Perhaps Beijing is only being realistic: there is a legitimate argument for developing missiles for satellite launches and wider space programs. But the powerful conservative bloc in the US sees a more sinister motivation at work.

“Even as it tries to rally multinational coalitions and public opinion to oppose ‘the weaponization of space’, Beijing quietly continues to develop its own space-based weapons and tactics to destroy American military assets,” Heritage Foundation vice president for foreign policy and defense studies, Larry M Wortzel, railed in a commentary.

“China’s strategy here is to blunt American military superiority by limiting and ultimately neutralizing its existing space-based defense assets, and to forestall deployment of new technology that many experts believe would provide the best protection from ballistic missile attack.”

Last month, Chinese President Hu Jintao sided with Russia in its long-running campaign to block the deployment of a US missile defense system covering much of East Asia that would partly operate from bases in Eastern Europe.

Some analysts believe Beijing is worried the deployment of American space-based interceptors would block missiles the PLA has been upgrading to target what it calls the renegade island of Taiwan and US Pacific bases.

Certainly, the Chinese military apparatus hasn’t been sitting on its haunches while its diplomats have been getting all worked up over the Americans. Security analysts say it has poured cash into an electronic warfare capability designed to jam satellite transmissions, developed laser-based weapons and improved its heavy-lift rockets.

The Technology Research Academy has been working on an advanced ASAT weapon called a “piggyback satellite” that would attach itself to an enemy satellite, space station or space-based laser and jam communications or blow up the target.

A generation of mini satellites is being developed that would be so small they would be difficult to detect from the ground. They are said to be defensive, but would still be capable of surveillance, reconnaissance, communications and - theoretically - the destruction of other satellites.

Three mobile space launch vehicles, the KT-1, KT-2 and KT-2A, have been designed to launch the “nano-sats”. Pentagon officials say the KT-2 and KT-2A will also be capable of targeting geosynchronous and polar orbits used by US military satellites.

American strategists seized on 2003 comments by Captain Shen Zhongchang of the Chinese Navy Research Institute that he envisioned a weaker military force - presumably China - being able to defeat a superior one by attacking its space-based communications and surveillance systems.

“The mastery of outer space will be a requisite for military victory, with outer space becoming the new commanding heights for combat,” Shen is quoted as saying in the US Defense Department’s annual report to Congress on the Chinese military capability.

China’s antisatellite test last year was probably designed more for political effect than military gain: after all, it has already sent astronauts into space and has a robust intercontinental ballistic missile program. It is likely Beijing was sending a signal to Washington that it could cripple low-level satellites if the US overstepped the mark on the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty, for instance.

There is no doubting the technical gap that still exists between the US and all other potential space combatants, and the Americans do their best to make sure the others about know it.

A 2004 report titled “Transformation Flight Plan” pulled the curtain right back on a bewildering high-tech research strategy that left little doubt the Pentagon wanted complete superiority in space - treaty or no treaty - and was ready to turn it into a battlefield if necessary.

Crucially, the program proposes a shift from protecting satellites from hostile attack to developing an offensive capability, including the tracking and neutralizing of enemy orbiters, and weapons with the ability “to strike ground targets anywhere in the world from space”.

Like much that originates from the Pentagon’s research boffins, the report lapses into fantasy at times. There is something called a Hypervelocity Rod Bundles project, widely discredited by scientists, that would fire metal poles from space to targets on Earth. Then there is the sci-fi plan to dangle giant mirrors below airships to deflect laser beams that could be used to cripple satellites or block out communications, if they could be steered to the right location in time.

The US Air Force, which is leading the research thrust, expects to be able to disrupt space-based communications and early warning systems by 2010 and to have air-launched missiles that could intercept satellites in low orbit after 2015.

But these targets were drawn up under a strongly pro-ASAT George W Bush administration that took its inspiration from the strategic vision of defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. It will be leaving office in November.

As he was taking up his post in 2001, Rumsfeld laid out his intentions to escalate the ASAT race while chairing a commission on space and national security, warning that to do otherwise would risk a “space Pearl Harbor”. Rumsfeld argued that the US needed to “vigorously pursue the capabilities … to ensure that the president will have the option to deploy weapons in space”.

Congressmen, sitting on both sides of the political spectrum, have been less enthusiastic. Reluctant to commit money to fantastic weapons that might never work, they have joined forces in the House Armed Services Committee to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from missile defense and ASAT research in the past two years.

Among the scuttled programs was an additional interceptor site in Europe, research into lasers that would target satellites and funding for a space-based missile defense interceptor. Allocations for the high-altitude airships were sharply reduced.

Officially at least, no American president has yet crossed the line and authorized the deployment of a space weapon, but the day is fast coming when it may be unavoidable.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain was cast from the same mold as Rumsfeld on defense issues and will probably keep the cash pot boiling; his Democratic opponent Barack Obama would need a lot more convincing.

Both may be left with little choice if the Chinese stage any more ASAT tests, which many security analysts believe simply harden US public opinion and hand the initiative back to the hawks at the Pentagon.

“Whatever their motivation, there is little doubt it [the 2007] test was a miscalculation,” said an Australian diplomat. “They miscalculated the US response and of course forfeited the moral high ground after successfully portraying themselves as the voice of the disarmament movement.

“It’s [also] a little hard to ignore China’s shipments of missile technology that impinges upon US strategic interests and might even be adapted for future ASAT deployment,” he said.

The pro-ASAT lobby contends the US cannot sit on its hands while countries like Syria, Libya, North Korea and Iran, all hostile to American geopolitical influences, are getting missiles capable of threatening US satellites from China and Russia. In Asia, feuding neighbors Pakistan and India have also benefited.

China shipped components for the Fateh-110 missile developed by Iran and also sold it the Tondar-69, which the PLA had designed as the CSS-8. Pakistan purchased parts for its Shaheen and Hatf series from the Chinese, as well as the Ghauri-3.

Beijing has also sanctioned the PLA’s defense technology arm to help Iran, Pakistan and North Korea - and reportedly Syria - establish military targeting satellites or space launch programs.

Russia supplied components for Iran’s Shahab series, shipped the SS-21s used by both Syria and North Korea, the Scud B used by Libya and the Agri series deployed by India. The Indians also bought parts for their Prithv series and Sagarika from Russia.

In addition, the Russians have their Kondor-E military satellite, designed to guide high-speed supersonic cruise missiles with space-targeting sensors, on sale on the open market.

India, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan, as well as China, have already produced or flight-tested missiles with ranges exceeding 2,600 kilometers, easily within the range of low-orbit satellites.

America satellite defenses have been tested by what Washington terms “unstable regimes”, pointing to the increased vulnerability of orbiters that are vital to military communications - not to mention the word economy.

The most extreme confirmed attack took place during the second war with Iraq, when signals transmitted from that country’s embassy in Cuba jammed American commercial communications satellite traffic.

According to defense officials, there have also been sporadic attacks on US military satellites from ground-based laser systems. Several versions of these lasers are being exported by both China and Russia.

Citing the incidents, ASAT supporters said these had shifted the space war debate from the futuristic to the present. The issue had now become one of vital national security for the Americans.

“The US cannot allow our space assets to be threatened,” the commander of the US Strategic Command, Admiral James O Ellis, warned after the Iraqi attacks.

“We must continue to develop and field space control assets that provide us the ability to use our space systems when and where we need, while denying that capability - when necessary - to our adversaries. To avoid significant 21st century consequences, we must act now to protect and defend America’s interests in space.”

Money Falls From The Sky In Indonesia

An Indonesian businessman sparked a scramble for cash when he dropped 100 million rupiah (S$14,600) in banknotes from an aircraft on Sunday to promote a book he has written.

Mr Tung Desem Waringin, who is promoting his second business motivation book, got the aircraft to fly four times over a soccer stadium in Serang city, some 60 kilometres west of here.

A 13-year-old girl lost consciousness running after the notes and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital, the Detikcom online news service said.

He had wanted to release the money over Jakarta but was refused permission from police.

The money was released in bills of 1,000 and 5,000 rupiahs.

Detikcom said that on the first and second run, the notes fell around 500 metres from the stadium, and on the latter runs mostly inside the grounds.

Rumours of the stunt had been circulating since Saturday, and many people were waiting in the open air for the plane to fly over.

Mr Waringin has been quoted in his blog as saying he would rather share money earmarked for a conventional promotional campaign with people who needed it. — AFP

China Deals With Power Shortages In Quake Zone

China takes emergency measures to cope with “short supplies of coal, diesel and power in some areas,” and vows to ensure energy supply during reconstruction in quake zones.

Guizhou, Shaanxi provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region should continue to supply coal to quake-hit areas to ensure the power generation of thermal power stations there, said an emergency circular of the State Council made available to Xinhua on Saturday.

The overall supply and demand for coal, oil, electricity and agricultural goods and materials are now in balance, with short supplies in some areas, said the circular.

It urged local governments to guarantee the supplies of coal, oil, gas, electricity and agricultural goods, saying it would provide the basis for promoting disaster relief, garnering agricultural harvests for the whole year and maintaining the national economy on a healthy and fast track.

China’s coal-fired power industry has been under stress from coal shortages this year, but the 8.0-magnitude earthquake exacerbated the problem as it damaged a considerable number of the hydropower stations in southwest China, which could not restore power generation in the near future.

As the damaged power network gets repaired, reconstruction embarks on and the industries restore operation, the demand for power would gradually recover to the level before the earthquake.

Thermal power stations would have to make up for the lost hydropower during the reconstruction period, generating an even higher demand for coal.

By May 21, coal stocks fell to a level sufficient for less than seven days in some power plants in Sichuan Province with an aggregate amount of power capacity of 4 gigawatts.

Starting from then, the railway authorities used six trains to ship coal from Guizhou, Shaanxi and Henan provinces to Sichuan, and the government might draw on power supply from the Three Gorges Dam in real difficult situations to make ends meet.

The circular urged coal-manufacturing provinces to increase their output and speed up the approval process for resumption of production at small coal mines that had been suspended from operation to amend safety problems.

Coal-producing counties should wait for the approval of provincial government and report to the National Development and Reform Commission and State Administration of Work Safety if it plans to reduce one third of its coal output, according to the circular.

Coal production in quake zone should also be restored as soon as possible when work safety could be ensured, said the circular.

Thermal power plants should take measures to keep no less than 15 days of coal stock, said the circular.

The circular also ordered the China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec to guarantee oil supply to the quake zone.