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Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network DAILY REPORT For Wednesday, July 8, 1998, from Berkeley, California, USA |
1. ROK-Russian Spying Row
Reuters ("SOUTH KOREA EXPELS RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT," Seoul, 07/08/98) and the
Associated Press ("S. KOREA TO EXPEL RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT," Seoul, 07/08/98)
reported that the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement
Wednesday that it was expelling Russian diplomat Oleg N. Abramkin. The
statement said that Abramkin "has engaged in activities which violate a
diplomat's status." The statement added, "We hope that despite this
decision, South Korea and Russia's friendly, cooperative relations will
continue to develop." The move appeared to be retaliation for Russia's
earlier expulsion of Cho Sung-woo, counselor at the ROK embassy in
Moscow, on espionage charges. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday
said that Cho had received classified materials from Valentin Moiseyev,
deputy director of the ministry's first Asian department, who had
previously worked in the DPRK, first as a newspaper reporter and then
later in trade. Moiseyev is expected to be charged with treason within a
week for handing over the information to Cho, officials in Moscow said.
On Wednesday, the Russian news agency Interfax quoted Deputy Foreign
Minister Grigory Karasin as calling the ROK action "an absolutely
unwarranted and inequitable response."
2. US-PRC Military Cooperation
State Department Spokesman James Rubin ("STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, JULY
7, 1998," USIA Transcript, 07/07/98) said that the US and the PRC will
hold in July the first annual meeting under the Military Maritime
Consultative Agreement, to promote safety in naval and air operations.
The US and PRC militaries have also agreed to send personnel in the near
future to observe a joint training exercise of the other side on the
basis of reciprocity, with the size, location, and timing of the exercise
to be discussed and decided by the two sides. Rubin stated, "the more
militaries understand about what each other is doing, the less likelihood
there is for misunderstanding and miscalculation and accidents to occur
that will endanger either the relationship of the countries or would
involve risk to a particular situation."
US Defense Department Spokesman Ken Bacon ("PENTAGON SPOKESMAN'S REGULAR
BRIEFING JULY 7, 1998," USIA Transcript, 07/08/98) said that the US has
already had joint search-and-rescue exercises with the PRC. The US
formerly conducted a series of joint search-and-rescue exercises with the
British forces operating out of Hong Kong, and have continued the same
types of exercises with the PRC since its takeover of Hong Kong. Bacon
added that the PRC has agreed to send two observers to RIMPAC 1998, an
annual Naval exercise that takes place in the Pacific. PRC observers
will also watch Cooperative Cope-Thunder, an air exercise that will take
place in Alaska involving air force representatives from the United
Kingdom, US, Australia, Japan, and Singapore. Bacon stated, "What was
new and a breakthrough on the President's trip to China was an agreement
to have reciprocal observer missions watching joint exercises in the two
countries." He added, "Previously, we have invited the Chinese, and they
haven't always invited us to watch their exercises." Bacon argued, "I
think it's actually a rather important confidence-building measure. It
shows that, one, we have nothing to hide in these exercises involving
several countries. And two, it shows the Chinese that we're willing to
come and watch our exercises and other countries working together."
3. US-India Nuclear Talks
The Associated Press (Donna Bryson, "NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY SEEN AT
HEART OF U.S.-INDIA TALKS," New Delhi, 07/08/98) reported that US Deputy
Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will meet his Indian counterpart,
Jaswant Singh, on Thursday in Frankfurt, Germany, for the second round of
negotiations on India's nuclear program. The two officials met in
Washington in June and further talks are planned. Jasjit Singh, director
of the independent Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New
Delhi, said that for India to agree to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT) would require reshaping domestic public opinion. Singh
said that a resumption of US aid and loans, or allowing India
unrestricted access to dual use nuclear technology, would help the Indian
government overcome domestic opposition to the CTBT.
State Department Spokesman James Rubin ("STATE DEPT. NOON BRIEFING, JULY
7, 1998," USIA Transcript, 07/07/98) said that the US strongly believes
that the deployment of nuclear weapons in South Asia would be a dangerous
development. He added, "We think that it's up to India and Pakistan to
make some important decisions, and we're hopeful that some of the
dialogue in India now is a signal that they maybe have realized the
wisdom of going forward with the Comprehensive Test Ban. But we are not
on the verge of achieving that at this point; we're in the process of
discussing it." Rubin also said that US President Bill Clinton's planned
trip to India is on hold pending further discussion.
4. India-Pakistan Relations
The New York Times (Barbara Crossette, "PAKISTAN SAYS INDIA USES FALSE
THREATS TO JUSTIFY NUCLEAR ARMS," New York, 07/08/98) reported that
Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad, in a speech to the Asia Society in New
York, said Tuesday that India was using a fictional threat from the PRC
and unverified charges of Pakistani terrorist infiltration into Kashmir
to justify its nuclear weapons program. Ahmad stated, "We say that to
verify these charges, let neutral international observers be stationed on
both sides. India has always refused." He criticized the US for
focusing too much on the issue of nuclear weapons and not enough on the
regional security concerns in South Asia, saying that for Pakistan to
give in to demands to relinquish the nuclear option would be tantamount
to "forfeiting our right to exist." He said that the possibility of
Pakistan signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty before India was being
discussed "at all levels" in the Pakistani government.
5. British Nuclear Arms Reduction
The Associated Press ("U.K. TO HALVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS, SELL SOME DEFENSE
ASSETS-TIMES," London, 07/08/98) reported that the Times of London said
Wednesday that Britain plans to cut its nuclear deterrent in half over
the next three years. Britain will retain fewer than 200 operationally
available nuclear warheads, a cut of more than 70 percent since the end
of the Cold War. The newspaper said that the government will reduce to
48 from 96 the maximum number of warheads on its fleet of three Trident
submarines, and the fleet will be increased to four at the start of the
century.
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