transnistria now asking for recognition from Russia.

The Kurds are currently fighting against ISIS

First Australian pilots to undertake F-35A training

The names of the first two Australian pilots selected to undergo training in the United States on the F-35A Lightning II, commonly known as the Joint Strike Fighter, were today announced by the Deputy Chief of Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Gavin Davies.

AVM Davies said the training represented an important milestone towards introducing the F-35A into RAAF service.

“It is fitting to announce the future of this capability here at Point Cook, where military aviation in Australia was born,” he said.

“Our history is important, and our first two pilots will make history as they become our first pilots to fly this fifth generation aircraft.

“Not only do they represent the future of RAAF, they will have an important leadership and training role as future instructors for the F-35A,” AVM Davies said.

Squadron Leaders Andrew Jackson and David Bell, currently based at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW, were selected for their operational flying skills, extensive experience and leadership. They are among the very best in their field. They will soon travel to the United States to commence their training.

“The F-35A will be Australia’s first fifth generation aircraft and will provide us with an incredible air combat capability. I’m excited to be given the opportunity to take a leading role in its introduction” Squadron Leader Jackson, a qualified Fighter Combat Instructor, said.

Squadron Leader Bell, a qualified Test Pilot, was equally impressed by the opportunity.

“This aircraft gives fighter pilots a level of situational awareness that far exceeds legacy platforms. It will be an honour to work alongside the US Air Force and to be at the leading edge of delivering the F-35A to Australia,” he said.

The RAAF’s first two F-35A aircraft are scheduled to complete production in mid-2014 .

Syria claims forces killed 175 rebels

(CNN) -- Syrian government forces killed 175 rebels that it described as mostly Saudi, Qatari and Chechen "terrorists" in an ambush east of Damascus, the state-run SANA news agency reported Wednesday.

There was no immediate response from rebels about the report.

The news agency, citing a military source, said that an army unit eliminated scores of Jabhat al Nusra and "Islam battalion" rebels.

GG Russia.

Japan defies China's air defense zone with planes, ships in East China Sea

(CNN) -- The Japanese military won't stop its patrols in or over the East China Sea, no matter what China wants, a Japanese official said Thursday.

Japan's Self Defense Force has been using ships and planes to patrol and conduct surveillance in the East China Sea since before China declared a new air defense zone over much of the sea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Thursday.

"We have no intention to change this operation in consideration for China," Suga said. "In any case, we will continue the surveillance/patrol operation with strong determination to protect our territory against China's one-sided attempt to change the status quo by force."
And Japan isn't alone in disobeying China. After Beijing upset the region by declaring the new air defense zone, two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers flew through the area in what the U.S. State Department said was a planned military exercise.

undermining security Japanese airlines defy China's demands

The U.S. aircraft ignored China's new demands that planes that fly through the zone identify themselves and submit flight plans to Chinese authorities, despite Beijing's warnings that it could take military measures against aircraft that failed to comply.
The delicate situation is a test of how China's increasingly assertive approach beyond its borders will play out against the U.S. government's promise to focus more on Asia and uphold commitments to its allies.

"China is busy designing and implementing a bolder foreign policy in light of an anticipated U.S. decline," Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, director of Asia-Pacific programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, wrote in a commentary for CNN.com this week.

The air zone declaration is a clear example of the new approach of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has been in power for about a year, according to Kleine-Ahlbrandt.

"Unlike his predecessors, Xi is making foreign policy with the mindset of a great power, increasingly probing U.S. commitments to its allies in the region and exploiting opportunities to change the status quo," she says.

But for the time being, the U.S. government is standing its ground in the East China Sea.
READ: B-52s defy China's new air defense zone

War of words

The United States and Japan have criticized Beijing's air defense announcement, saying it escalates tensions in the region and raises the risk of an incident. They say they won't recognize the new zone.

China hit back at those comments with strong words of its own, describing the U.S. and Japanese statements as unreasonable and unacceptable.

After news of the U.S. flights emerged, the Chinese Defense Ministry responded cautiously Wednesday, saying it had monitored the planes' activity on the edge of the air defense zone. The statement held back from criticizing the U.S. action.

At a regular briefing later Wednesday, a journalist asked a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman if Beijing is concerned it will now be seen as a "paper tiger."

"I want to emphasize that the Chinese government has enough resolution and capability to safeguard the country's sovereignty and security," replied the spokesman, Qin Gang.
Simmering dispute
The bomber flights are the strongest American involvement yet in a festering territorial dispute in the region between China and Japan over a set of small, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

After China's air defense declaration Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reiterated American support for Japan, where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed as part of a security agreement.

He said the U.S. Japan Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the disputed islands, known as Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China.

Uneasy encounters between Chinese and Japanese planes and ships have already taken place repeatedly over the past year near the islands, which are believed to have large oil reserves nearby.

Tensions spiked after the Japanese government purchased some of the islands from a private owner in September 2012, angering Chinese authorities, who saw the move as an attempt by Japan to tighten control.

Hagel warned that China's "unilateral action" of declaring the air defense zone "increases the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculations."

Amid the tensions, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit the region next week on a previously announced trip, stopping in Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, South Korea.

Difficult to monitor

Monday's U.S. bomber flights also highlight the challenges that analysts say China faces in policing its newly claimed air zone.

In its statement Wednesday, the Chinese Defense Ministry said that "China has the capability to exercise effective control" over the area.

"Beijing might have bitten off a bit more than they can chew because actually going out and monitoring these things on an ongoing basis is probably a bit beyond the capabilities of the Chinese air force right now," said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website.

"In a sense, it's more a rhetorical statement, as opposed to a realistic military space," he said.

Adding to the complications and confusion surrounding the zone, Japan's two main commercial airlines said Wednesday that following a request from the Japanese government, they and other members of the Scheduled Airlines Association of Japan will not submit flight plans to Chinese authorities for flights through the zone claimed by Beijing.

The two carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, said the association had concluded that there would be "no impact" on the safety of passengers on board flights through the zone without the submission of flight plans to China.

But Waldron said he wasn't entirely sure about that. From a legal point of view, he said, the airlines probably don't have to report their plans and follow all the rules requested by China.

"I think from a safety perspective, it's a good idea for them to do so," he said. "Just in case."

'The right of every country'

Since it declared the new air defense zone over the weekend, China has been busy making its case for why it feels the move was justified.

It has pointed out that other countries already operate air defense identification zones in waters around their territory, noting that Japan has had a zone in place in the East China Sea since the 1960s.

"It's natural, it's indeed the right of every country to defend its airspace and also to make sure that its territorial integrity, its sovereignty are safeguarded," China's U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi said Tuesday.

But analysts say that by declaring a zone that now overlaps with that of Japan, China has increased the likelihood of a high-risk incident in the air.


CNN's Barbara Starr, Greg Botelho, Madison Park, Steven Jiang, David McKenzie, Junko Ogura and Kevin Wang contributed to this report.

So they fly 2 B-52's through the airspace. That makes sense.

The United States warned that China's claim to airspace "constitutes an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea. Escalatory action will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident," according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

China says it monitored U.S. B-52s that flew through its new air zone

Hong Kong (CNN) -- China monitored two unarmed U.S. military aircraft that flew through its newly declared air defense zone on Monday without identifying themselves, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.

"The Chinese military conducted monitoring during the entire course and identified the type of U.S. aircraft," said Col. Geng Yansheng, a spokesman for the ministry.

The U.S. Air Force B-52 planes, which were on a training mission, set off Monday from Guam and returned there without incident after spending about an hour in China's claimed air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, according to a U.S. official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The flights came two days after China unilaterally announced the creation of the air zone over a large area of the sea including several islands over which Beijing and Tokyo both claim sovereignty. The two Asian countries have been sharply at odds over those small, remote isles, which are believed to be near large reserves of natural resources.

The United States and Japan have criticized the Chinese air zone declaration, saying it escalates tensions in the region and raises the risk of an incident.

China has hit back at both countries, calling the U.S. comments "completely unreasonable" and the Japanese remarks "utterly groundless."

The United States has said it won't recognize the new zone or China's request that aircraft entering it identify themselves and file flight plans. The flights of the B-52s on Monday demonstrated that stance.

The Chinese defense ministry's statement Wednesday appeared cautious, omitting any criticism of the U.S. action.

"China has the capabilities to conduct effective control over relevant airspace," Geng said in comments posted on the ministry's website.

CNN's Kevin Wang contributed to this report.

Looks like South China Sea part 2, only this time with Japan.

Why China's new air zone incensed Japan, U.S.



(CNN) -- An international battle of words is underway after China declared the creation of an air zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The United States warned that China's claim to airspace "constitutes an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea. Escalatory action will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident," according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

China is in the center of several island disputes, including rising tensions in the East China Sea over the islands known as Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan. Tensions have festered over the years between the two nations over competing claims to the disputed islands.

What is China's "Air Defense Identification Zone"?

Japan disputes China's new air defense zone Disputed islands buzzing with activity Why is Japan feuding over islands? Clinton: Diplomacy to end land disputes
China released a map and coordinates that identify its air defense zone on November 23.
It declared that aircraft in the area must report their flight plans to China, maintain two-way radio and clearly mark their nationalities on the aircraft. The new rules went into effect 10 a.m. on November 23, Xinhua reported.

This space included a swath of the East China Sea, including the Daioyu/Senkaku islands.
China vowed to "adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions."
What is an "Air Defense Identification Zone" or ADIZ?

The ADIZ is not a new concept. It's essentially a buffer zone outside a country's sovereign airspace.

Several countries including the United States have established ADIZ in international airspace next to their nations. A foreign aircraft traveling in an ADIZ can be required to identify itself for entry into that country's airspace.

It is unilaterally imposed, so it doesn't really have a legal basis and isn't based on negotiation with neighbors, said James Hardy, the Asia-Pacific Editor of IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. "It's purpose is to give the country an early warning zone in which it can intercept potentially unfriendly aircraft."

"Countries are free to set their own Air Defense Identification Zone," added Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, director of Asia-Pacific Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. "It's a decision that's taken unilaterally but they become sensitive when they overlap as in this case."

What islands does China's ADIZ affect?

The Chinese defense ministry said the new air defense zone was not directed toward a specific country. The map and coordinates released by China show the zone covers parts of the East China Sea, as well as the Daioyu/Senkaku islands.

China may also have stirred its South Korean neighbors. A reef, called Ieodo in the Yellow Sea sits about 149 kilometers southwest of Korean and 287 kilometers east from China, is partially covered by the Chinese ADIZ. The Koreans have established an Ocean Research Station on Ieodo.

Why have Diaoyu/Senkaku islands been so contentious?

China says its claim on the islands extend back to 1400s, which was used as a staging point for Chinese fisherman.

Japan says it saw no trace of Chinese control of the islands in an 1885 survey, so formally recognized them as Japanese sovereign territory in 1895. Japan then sold the islands in 1932 to descendants of the original settlers. The Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945 only served to cloud the issue further.

The islands were administered by the U.S. occupation force after the war. But in 1972, Washington returned them to Japan as part of its withdrawal from Okinawa.

According to Xinhua, China and Japan "agreed in 1978 to put the issue aside and solve it in the future."

The dispute intensified last year as protests erupted in China after Japan announced it had bought several of the disputed islands from private Japanese owners. Anti-Japanese demonstrations turned violent as protesters hurled bottles at the Japanese embassy in Beijing, overturned Japanese cars, ransacked Japanese stores and restaurants.

What's so appealing about the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands?


It's uninhabited and may look like a bunch of rocks. But ownership of the islands would allow for exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in surrounding waters.

How have China's neighbors reacted?

Japan on Sunday slammed the Chinese announcement, saying it had "no validity whatsoever."
Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs called China's measure "profoundly dangerous acts that unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea, escalating the situation, and that may cause unintended consequences."

In South Korea, the nation's defense ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok said the country's sovereignty over Ieodo remains unchanged.

"China has unilaterally set up its ADIZ," Kim said. "The ADIZ that China has set up overlaps either with our military jurisdiction and military operation approved areas or area within our government's sovereignty, like Ieodo."

The Korean government would fly over such areas without informing the Chinese side, he added.

The United States warned that China's military claim to air zone over a disputed island chain creates the risk of "misunderstanding and miscalculation." Its statement drew a sharp rebuke from the Chinese calling the U.S. for making "irresponsible remarks.

Report: 7 soldiers killed in clashes with Islamist group in Benghazi, Libya

From Jomana Karadsheh, CNN
November 25, 2013 -- Updated 0720 GMT (1520 HKT)

The clashes erupted Sunday night in eastern city of Benghazi
"This is really the heaviest fighting" since the revolution, a resident says
A Libyan military official says forces are responding after an attack on army members
Islamists are fighting under the banner of Ansar al-Sharia

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Seven Libyan soldiers were killed and more than 39 injured in heavy clashes between the Libyan army and members of an Islamist group believed to be behind last year's attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission.

The clashes erupted Sunday night in eastern city of Benghazi between the military and members of Ansar al-Sharia. They continued into Monday morning.

By midday, residents reported a tense calm. Schools were closed. And, according to local media reports, security forces secured the main roads and entrances into the city.

A senior Libyan military official in the city, speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the fighting was not a planned operation but a "reaction" to an attack on the army by members of Ansar al-Sharia on Sunday night.

He said members of the military's special forces with support from local residents responded with raids on a number of known Ansar al-Sharia locations in Benghazi.


The fighting was intense and Islamist fighters used mortars and rocket propelled grenades, the official said.

A Benghazi resident said Monday morning that the sound of heavy clashes and explosions intensified in the morning across the city.

"This is really the heaviest fighting I have heard in Benghazi since the revolution," he said, adding that people were staying indoors and schools sent children back home.
"Ansar al-Sharia versus the Army, this has been a long way coming," he said.

Security deteriorating

Ansar al-Sharia is more a label than an organization, one that's been adopted by conservative Salafist groups across the Arab world. The name means "Partisans of Islamic Law."

In Benghazi, Ansar al-Sharia was one of many groups that filled the vacuum of authority following the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi.

U.S. officials have said that they suspected Ansar al-Sharia of being behind the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi last year that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Over the past year, there has been a significant deterioration in the security situation in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and the cradle of the 2011 revolution.

In recent weeks, there has been an uptick in violence in the city, most notably in an assassination campaign that has primarily targeted security force members, most of whom held positions under the former regime.

This month Benghazi residents reported an increased presence of Libyan army, most notably the special forces who were working to secure the city.

Army checkpoints and patrols have been targeted by bombings and shootings and a senior military official escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb targeted his car in Benghazi earlier this month.

The violence is blamed on Islamist extremist groups in the city.

Also love it how Metropolitan France is still represented by Saint Pierre and Miquelon right up to the present day!

The map was also right to show Russia's ownership of Alaska, that everyone knows about, but I was disappointed that they didn't show at least a dot for their colonisation of California. They were first into Hawaii as well.