NAPSNet 23 June 2011
- AUSTRAL SECURITY: China’s ascent may prompt shift of Defence bases
- DETERRENCE: South Korea shooting mishap highlights heightened tensions with North
- ENERGY SECURITY: Statement to IAEA ministerial conference on nuclear safety
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Chinese military moves on restive Guangzhou Suburb
- DPRK: N. Korea’s deforestation proceeding rapidly: report
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Urban climate change adaptation in the context of transformation
AUSTRAL SECURITY: China’s ascent may prompt shift of Defence bases, Age (23 June 2011)
Dan Oakes reports that a defence posture review currently being undertaken under order from the Australian government could result in the reposition of Australia’s fighting capability to northern Australia in order to protect Australia’s energy resources and counter the growing threat China poses in the region. This comes as the Lowy Institute’s Alan Dupont has released a report emphasising the need for a clearer Australian strategy to deal with China and its resource concerns.
- Living with the dragon: why Australia needs a China strategy, Lowy Institute (22 June 2011)
- Theory and practice—a comparative look at China’s new defence White Paper, ASPI (15 June 2011)
- China’s national defense in 2010, People’s Republic of China (April 2011)
DETERRENCE: South Korea shooting mishap highlights heightened tensions with North, Christian Science Monitor (19 June 2011)
South Korean marines fired K2 rifles at but did not hit an Asiana passenger jet flying its normal route. They mistook it for a North Korean fighter jet above Gyodong Island (about a mile from the North). This incident raises issues of rules of engagement, inadvertent escalation, and loss of control of nuclear weapons.
- US, South Korea eye shift in rules of engagement on North Korea, Christian Science Monitor (8 December 2010)
- Instabilities in the control of nuclear forces, Breakthrough, Walker and Co (1988)
- Nuclear deterrence in South Asia: The 1990 Indo-Pakistani crisis, International Security (1995-1996)
ENERGY SECURITY: Statement to IAEA ministerial conference on nuclear safety, IAEA (20 June 2011)
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano noted the impacts of the Fukushima accident on public confidence in nuclear power safety. He called for reviews of IAEA safety standards and their implementation, of the safety of all nuclear plants, and of the independence and effectiveness of national nuclear regulators, as well as strengthening of global emergency preparedness and response, and enhancement of the IAEA’s information-sharing function.
- AP IMPACT: Federal nuclear regulators repeatedly weaken or fail to enforce safety standards, AP, Washington Post (20 June 2011)
- IAEA international fact finding expert mission of the nuclear accident following the great east Japan earthquake and tsunami, IAEA (1 June 2011)
- IAEA report says Japan’s disaster response may have been slowed by miscommunication, Fukushima News (18 June 2011)
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Chinese military moves on restive Guangzhou Suburb, Epoch Times (14 June 2011)
Thousands of migrant workers turned out protesting discrimination in the southern city of Xintang, China sparking riots and highlighting the growing frustration of migrant and low income communities. Demonstrators destroyed vehicles and public facilities; at least 25 people were arrested, and over 5,000 police and soldiers were mobilized. Meanwhile, thousands protested in Yangxunqiau after 500 adults and 100 children were infected with lead poisoning.
- China food costs push inflation to 5.5% in May, USA Today (15 June 15 2011)
- Chinese workers protest lead poisoning, Washington Post (15 June 2011)
DPRK: N. Korea’s deforestation proceeding rapidly: report, Yonhap (17 June 2011)
The Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) reported that the chronic energy shortage in the DPRK is driving deforestation. North Koreans are increasingly using biomass for food and fuel due to the lack of coal and electricity. Approximately 127,000 hectares of forest in North Korea has been destroyed every year for the last two decades. The loss of forest cover makes the DPRK increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters such as mudslides.
- Forest and other biomass production in the DPRK: current situation and recent trends as indicated by remote sensing data, Nautilus Institute (26 June 2006) [PPT, 22.5 MB]
- Unbearable legacies: the politics of environmental degradation in North Korea, Nautilus Institute (30 August 2009) [PDF, 380 KB]
- The Korea Forest Research Institute
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Urban climate change adaptation in the context of transformation: lessons from Vietnam, Resilient Cities, Local Sustainability (2011) [subscription required]
The need to adapt to climate related impacts creates new and unprecedented challenges for local governments, often exceeding their current capacities. Matthias Garschagen and Frauke Kraas analyse challenges local urban governments/cities face with respect to formulating and implementing their climate adaptation strategies in the context of numerous emerging political and economic transformations. They focus particularly on coastal and delta cities in Vietnam.
- Taking a climate chance: a procedural critique of Vietnam’s climate change strategy, Asia Pacific Viewpoint (November 2010) [subscription required]
- Notes on applying ‘real options’ to climate change adaptation measures, with examples from Vietnam, ANU (November 2010) [1.58 MB, PDF]
Editor
Contributors
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- Governance and Civil Society: Yi Kiho
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- DPRK: Scott Bruce
- Energy Security: David von Hippel
- Austral Security: Arabella Imhoff, Mihiri Weerasinghe