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Tue 22 June 1999
China: Inside China Today

China Says U.S. Wants To Become "Lord Of Earth"

China compared the United States to Nazi Germany on Tuesday and said NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia reflected Washington's ambition to become "Lord of the Earth". "If you ask which country wants to become 'the Lord of the Earth' as the then Nazi Germany had tried to, there is only one answer," said a commentary in the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. "It is the hegemonism-pursuing United States." In likening the United States to Nazi Germany, the newspaper cited its massive defense budget, the bombing of Yugoslavia without U.N. sanction and the killing of civilians during the air campaign in Yugoslavia. NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia "has let more and more people see more clearly the ferocious appearance of the U.S. hegemonism and its ambition to dominate the world", it said. Full Story.

Mon 21 June 1999
Russia: Nando Times

Russians practice for war with West

Russia opened military exercises Monday to practice repelling a mock attack from the West, the Defense Ministry said.
Army units from Russia's western regions and ships from its Baltic fleet will participate. All troops will be on high alert during the six-day exercises, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Moscow views NATO as a threat and the 78-day NATO air operation prompted calls in Russia to increase defense spending and develop new weapons and military technologies.
Belarus, Russia's western neighbor, will join the exercises. Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev will command the maneuvers, ITAR-Tass said. Full Story.

Fri 18 June 1999
North Korea: The Times

North Korean missiles may be able to hit US

North Korea is developing a new ballistic missile capable of hitting the western United States, it was reported here yesterday.
Japan's Jiji news agency quoted US and South Korean government sources as saying that Pyongyang was working to complete a Taepodong 3 missile with a range of more than 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles).
And the Kyodo News Agency, also quoting government sources, said that the reclusive communist country is almost ready to launch a Taepodong 2 missile, with a range of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,750 miles). US and Japanese military officials believe North Korea has deployed more than ten of these missiles, which could hit most areas of Japan.
Washington ordered the USS Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser, and another vessel as well as four surveillance aircraft to monitor the region after Tuesday's clash in which a North Korean torpedo boat was sunk.
Pyongyang, warned that the peninsula stood on the brink of war, banning South Koreans from its capital and cancelling a planned handover of remains of US war dead from the Korean War. Full Story.

Thu 17 June 1999
Russia: The Indpenent

Russia sticks to demand for a sector

The United States and Nato inched closer to an agreement with Russia over peacekeeping in Kosovo yesterday but received a noisy reminder by Boris Yeltsin that Moscow would not give in over the main sticking point.
Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State, repeated Nato's opposition to a Russian sector yesterday after she flew into the Finnish capital for parallel talks with Russia's Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov.
But, back in the Kremlin, President Yeltsin made his views clear before the television cameras by saying, in what was close to an angry snarl, that he was "categorically against" the idea that Russia should not also have a sector. Full Story.

Thu 17 June 1999
China: BBC

China rejects US apology

China has rejected an explanation by visiting US envoy Thomas Pickering that Nato's bombing of the embassy last month was a mistake. The official Xinhua news agency
quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan as telling Mr Pickering that the US explanation was "unconvincing and unacceptable."  Tensions between the two countries had plunged to a new low before the May attack when the US accused China of stealing its nuclear weapons technology. Full Story.

Wed 16 June 1999
Russia: Sydney Morning Herald

Russian build-up alarms allies

Bulgaria is now reported to have given clearance for Russian aircraft to overfly
its territory and Russia's RIA news agency has quoted "Serb sources in Pristina"
as saying the arrival of up to 7,000 Russian troops in the Kosovo capital was
expected in the next few days. The agency said the headquarters of the arriving
Russian peacekeepers would be at Pristina airport.
Western officials said any further significant deployment of Russian forces without prior agreement from NATO could create a major crisis, and raise serious questions about who was in control in Moscow. Full Story.

Tue 15 June 1999
Russia: Itar-Tass

Russia's Military Joining Partnership with China and India

Nikolai Mikhailov, Russia's First Deputy Minister of Defence and State Secretary, in his remarks during talks between Colonel-General Zhang Wannian, Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China, and the Command of Russia's Pacific Fleet, has stated that "Russia's strategic cooperation with China and India will rise to a qualitatively new level soon".
The Russian Defence Ministry official pointed out that "the events in Yugoslavia prompted the adoption of necessary measures in the strengthening of Russia's defence capability and in a quest for strategic partners in accomplishment of this important task. China and India are such partners now". Full Story.

Tue 15 June 1999
Kosovo: Nando Times

NATO takes positions as more Russians enter Pristina

U.S. Marines and other NATO troops fanned out over Kosovo on Tuesday as convoys of Yugoslav soldiers and Serb civilians straggled out of the battered province. Russia, meanwhile, sent an 11-vehicle convoy from Bosnia to resupply its troops at the airport in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. Russian control of the airport has caused an embarrassing diplomatic standoff as Western nations struggle to reach an agreement with Russia over its role in the massive peacekeeping mission. The Russian convoy included paratroopers and supplies for the 200-300 Russian troops at the airport, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Maj. David Scanlon, a NATO spokesman, said the convoy had 29 people. The surprise arrival of the Russian troops ahead of NATO has given Moscow greater leverage in negotiations over its place in the peacekeeping force. So far, they have refused to let British troops enter the airport.
Meanwhile, a senior KLA figure, Hashim Thaci, insisted that the rebel group was not required to disarm under the peace accord. Thaci, quoted by the guerrillas' Kosova Press, also said the KLA was opposed to the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops - seen as supporters of the Serbs - calling their surprise move into Pristina's airport "a provocation." "We will not guarantee their security in Kosova and we consider them as an unwanted force," he said. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright plan to meet their Russian counterparts in Helsinki, Finland, in coming days to discuss continuing differences over the Kosovo force. The talks would follow a second phone conversation Monday between President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. NATO says it welcomes Russian participation in the peacekeeping - as long as it leads the force. Moscow refuses that condition and wants a separate zone of control in Kosovo, something NATO fears will lead to the partition of the province. Full Story.

Mon 7 June 1999
Russia: BBC

Russia sides with Serbs

Russia has sided with Yugoslavia in the dispute over the withdrawal of Serb forces from Kosovo, accusing Nato commanders of adding conditions to the peace deal. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Nato was trying to bypass the UN. He said Nato had raised "the levels of its demands" during the weekend talks at Kumanovo. But with Russia appearing to support Serbia's version of events at the peace talks, western foreign ministers have held an extra meeting on Monday - without a Russian presence. Full Story.

Wed 2 June 1999
Anti-U.S. alliance: Russia Today

China, Russia Demand NATO Bombing Halt

China and Russia said on Wednesday they would not support a political solution to the conflict in Yugoslavia unless NATO halted its bombing campaign and that Yugoslavia must have greater say in a peace agreement. Russia and China "have all along stressed U.S.-led NATO must be condemned for its wanton and indiscriminate bombing of Kosovo," Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said, flanked by his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov. "NATO must immediately stop its bombing activities. This is a imperative precondition for a political solution to the Kosovo problem," Tang said. Moscow and Beijing have grown closer since NATO bombing in Yugoslavia began two months ago and both sides want an immediate halt to hostilities. Full Story.

Thu 27 May 1999
China: China Today

China Eyes Socialist Bloc To Counter US

As Sino-U.S. ties flounder over disputes about NATO bombing in Yugoslavia and U.S. charges of nuclear espionage, Beijing is turning toward its traditional socialist allies in Russia and North Korea for support. Beijing and Moscow are now artfully milking U.S. foreign policy blunders for geopolitical clout, boosting their own roles on the international stage. With a series of well-timed, high-level visits, the two neighbors have succeeded in putting the United States on alert with talk of a Beijing-Moscow "strategic partnership" and consensus on global issues. "Russia and China are playing up their partnership as part of an orchestrated anti-U.S. alliance," said one Russian diplomat on condition of anonymity. "They have done a similar thing in Iraq and will continue to use their new-found clout for individual aims." North Korea will soon join the fray as the hermit kingdom comes off the diplomatic sidelines with a planned June 3-7 visit to Beijing by Pyongyang's second-in-command, Kim Yong-nam. Full Story.

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