Iran's a strong friend, says Hu, page 1

Iran's a strong friend, says Hu

www.shanghaidaily.com

The Sino-Iranian relationship has achieved progress in recent years as the two countries maintained momentum on economic and trade cooperation and started working together on issues such as anti-narcotics, anti-terrorism and regional security, Hu added.

"Both China and Iran are big, developing nations and have strong economic complementarity and great potential for cooperation," he said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

So, China and Iran have been joining forces on anti-terrorism activiities. Looks like China and Iran are tighter than ever, especially with such strong language as this.

www.shanghaidaily.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Shere Khaan

---

Oh, more than that: Iran is seeking to join an alliance with China (and Russia).

This is breaking:

TEHRAN – President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Saturday expressed Iran’s interest to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

“The Islamic Republic is determined to boost cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and believes this would benefit all regional states,” Ahmadinejad told Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The Chinese leader welcomed Iran’s interest to join the SCO, saying an expert committee will be formed to consider the proposal.

(tehrantimes.com)


Does anyone know if the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has an equivalent to NATO's 'Article 5'?

reply to post by princeofpeace

---

That really doesn't make much sense at all. This has nothing to do with Libya. There comes a point when being so suspicious of the media can make you sound a bit loopy.

It's just a fact that Ahmadinejad said that to Hu Jintao; it's just a fact that the SCO are considering the membership of Iran into the organization (unless the Tehran Times is blatantly lying here; which you might believe if you were a tad paranoid about such things).

There's going against the grain ― and then there's just being a bit mental.

reply to post by chips

---

They don't seem to have anything as concrete as Article 5, but Wiki say's this about the SCO:

Cooperation on security

The SCO is primarily centered around its member nations' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism. However evidence is growing that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is increasing fast.[citation needed]

At the June 16-17 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Regional Antiterrorism Structure (RATS) was established. On 21 April 2006, the SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric.[4]

Grigory Logninov claimed in April 2006 that the SCO has no plans to become a military bloc; nonetheless he argued that the increased threats of "terrorism, extremism and separatism" make necessary a full-scale involvement of armed forces.[5]

There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The first of these was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Kazakhstan and the second in China.[6]

On a larger scale, but outside the SCO framework, the first ever joint military exercise between the PRC and Russia, called Peace Mission 2005 started on August 19, 2005. Following their successful completion, Russian officials have begun speaking of India joining such exercises in the future and the SCO taking on a military role.

The joint military exercises in 2007 took place in Chelyabinsk Russia, near the Ural Mountains and close to Central Asia, as was agreed upon on April 2006 at a meeting of SCO Defense Ministers. More than 4,000 soldiers participated from China. Air forces and precision-guided weapons were have likely to be used. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the exercises will be transparent and open to media and the public.[6][7]

In October 2007, the SCO signed an agreement with the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, to broaden cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking.[8] Joint action plans between the two organizations are planned to be signed by early 2008 in Beijing.[9]

WIKI LINK

So there have been apparent moves to strengthen military ties, but under the guise of Anti-terrorism and regional security, rather than as a direct counter balance to NATO/US

EDIT: Oh, Iran has officially applied for full SCO membership as of March 24th 2008

[edit on 6/9/08 by stumason]

reply to post by stumason

---

Cheers for that.

It's interesting, Stu, because at the end of March there was this:

Russia, China Unlikely To Welcome Iran Into SCO

"[China and Russia] are concerned that Iran's presence would possibly take [the SCO] in a different direction [that could] result in regional conflicts and confrontations between the East and the West." -- Turaj Atabaki, Leiden University

(payvand.com)


And now there's this:

The Chinese leader welcomed Iran’s interest to join the SCO, saying an expert committee will be formed to consider the proposal.

(tehrantimes.com)


Could the Russians now be pushing for Iran's entry into the SCO due to what's happened with NATO and the U.S. since March?

reply to post by chips

---

I think it is highly likely to be the case. I note with interest that the SCO agreement mentions speratism several times, which has a very definite link to Russia's interests in Georgia and China's in Tibet and Xinjiang province.

It is a shame that recent events have pushed this closer to actuality.

reply to post by Shere Khaan

---

Yeah, I agree completely, which is why I was wondering about an SCO equivalent to 'Article 5' (and now you've got Russia — thanks to the belligerence of NATO and the Bush administration — about to further aid Iran's nuclear program, too).

Whose fault is most of this, though? Well, we don't have to look far for the answer (just today's news, for example). Cheney said that Eastward NATO expansion will continue whether Russia likes it or not; Medvedev immediately responded:

“The war was a moment of truth for us,” said Mr. Medvedev. The world is different after August 8 when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, he added. “Russia will never allow anyone to infringe upon the lives and dignity of its citizens,” he said, adding: “Russia is a nation to be reckoned with from now on.”
(hindu.com)


This isn't just remarkably silly and reckless — it's massively dangerous. Eastward NATO expansion will be countered with the expansion of the SCO (and Iran into it, probably).

reply to post by bubbles75

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It's something they could do, but they have a long way to go to make their militaries as intergrated and well organised as any NATO force.

Although, those exercises they are doing together are exactly for that reason.....

reply to post by stumason

---

I'm not so sure, I can't say that NATO forces are working particularly well together in Afghanistan. Russia and China have performed military exercises together many times in the past. Russia China and Iran also use many of the same weapon systems so technically it shouldn't be hard to integrate and given the amount of Russian involvement in Iran in the past their militaries might have similar training too.

And think they would be the most obvious countries to counterbalance NATO expansion.

(Iran-related):

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Iran’s al Qods, Hizballah secretly integrate rocket and commando units

DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources disclose that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards delegation last week signed a secret accord with Hizballah leaders for the integration and operational merger of their missile-rocket and commando units.

This may not have been news to US vice president Dick Cheney, when he “revealed” Saturday, Sept. 6, that Russia had sold advanced weapons to Syria and Iran, some of which had been channeled to Lebanon and Iraq.

However, Israeli president Shimon Peres, who responded by waving aside the need for an Israeli attack on Iran, was clearly out of the picture evolving ominously across the border in Lebanon.

There, Iran and Syria are deepening their stranglehold on Lebanon and preparing to attack Israel by using al-Qods’ resources to further fortify Hizballah.

The new accord enables the two terrorist machines to fight under a unified command controlled from Tehran.

Like President Peres, the rest of Israel’s policy-making levels appears oblivious to the fact that key elements of Hizballah’s fighting machine against Israel have been taken over by the al Qods commander, Ghasem Suleimani, whom DEBKAfile identifies as the senior commander of Iran’s terrorist and intelligence networks in the Palestinian territories and the Persian Gulf.

Western military experts point to the contiguous operational control Iran has acquired for al Qods - from Iraq, via Syria, Lebanon and up to the Mediterranean coast of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Last week, defense minister Ehud Barak warned that Israel is closely and cautiously following developments to the north. “Our enemies” had better not put IDF to the test, he said.

Tehran, Damascus and Hizballah, already inured to such statements from Barak which rarely lead to action, simply ignored this one too.

Iran timed its move to coincide with the French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Damascus last week, hoping all eyes would be fixed on the visit and no one would notice the al Qods team slipping quietly into Beirut for another step to plunge Lebanon further into Iran-backed Hizballah war preparations against Israel.

(DEBKA)

Some more Iran-related news:

This is breaking:

Iran to hold anti-aircraft war games

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran's official news agency says that the country will launch on Monday a three-day anti-aircraft exercise.

The IRNA report says the maneuver is aimed at improving defensive capabilities and will involve new weapons and tactics.

Sunday's announcement comes amid heightened tension in Iran following Israel's major military exercises involving war planes over the eastern Mediterranean in June. The exercise was described in the U.S. press as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The West accuses Iran of trying to create a nuclear weapons program — a claim Iran denies, maintaining its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

(International Herald Tribune)

reply to post by Shere Khaan

---

It's crazy to think all these pieces are falling into place like on a chess board. Russia gaining allies with those not happy with the way the US is acting to the world as the international police. China and Russia have more in common than just a close geographical location and to take in Iran for more strength as well as the other countries flocking around them.

It's scary to see and I know something is building to which the US must pay attention to and change their international policies to avoid a possible war with most the world. It's obvious that Russia is putting themselves in stratigic postions to counter the balance the the US holds. They want power back and we want to keep it. This is all history repeating itself and we need to be aware of the repercutions our government has brought down on us.

We were warned a few months ago by Bush about WWIII and now things are starting to simmer and the water is starting to show beads of water forming at the bottom of what could turn into a situation no one wants to be in.

I hope I am wrong, but I feel something is building and not for the better.

Originally posted by chips
reply to post by Shere Khaan

---

Yeah, I agree completely, which is why I was wondering about an SCO equivalent to 'Article 5' (and now you've got Russia — thanks to the belligerence of NATO and the Bush administration — about to further aid Iran's nuclear program, too).

Whose fault is most of this, though? Well, we don't have to look far for the answer (just today's news, for example). Cheney said that Eastward NATO expansion will continue whether Russia likes it or not; Medvedev immediately responded:

“The war was a moment of truth for us,” said Mr. Medvedev. The world is different after August 8 when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, he added. “Russia will never allow anyone to infringe upon the lives and dignity of its citizens,” he said, adding: “Russia is a nation to be reckoned with from now on.”
(hindu.com)


This isn't just remarkably silly and reckless — it's massively dangerous. Eastward NATO expansion will be countered with the expansion of the SCO (and Iran into it, probably).

Are they really dumb enough to invite the worlds largest supporter of terrorism into their anti-terror club? That just shows that they want a counter to NATO and if they think India will play war games with China then they really need to see a shrink.

Oh and China is going to be the loser in all of this because Iran is going to be blockaded real real soon. 40 plus U.S. navy ships are in route to the Persian gulf along with the carrier strike group Ark Royal. Several French warplanes are on one of our carriers in route as well because their carrier is in dry dock. Iran is out of time.

The Georgian conflict may have been a big distraction to try to get us looking the other way but it is hiding the ship movements pretty well.

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