Both South Korea and China disregard US oil sanctions on Iran
South Korea has announced that it will buy around 10 percent of its needed crude from Iran in 2012, which will be slightly higher than last year. Meanwhile, China also defies US sanctions, stating it will resume its normal trade with Iran.
Press TV
January 4, 2011
Seoul’s demand for more Iranian oil follows the approval of a new act by the US Senate for imposing tougher sanctions on Iran’s financial and energy sectors.
Ignoring the sanctions, South Korea, which is the world’s fifth largest oil importer, is planning to buy 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude this year, a little more than the 190,000 bpd in 2011.
According to Reuters, South Korean authorities are going to meet with US officials to lobby for an exemption to US sanctions which will enable the country to buy and pay for Iran’s oil.
SK Energy Company will buy the additional amount of Iran’s crude by increasing its Iran oil import 10,000 bpd compared to last year’s figure.
Hyundai Oilbank, the only other South Korean refiner that buys Iranian crude, will import 70,000 bpd in 2012, unchanged from 2011, a Hyundai spokesman said on Wednesday. He added that Hyundai is also making contingency plans for any disruption in oil flow.
“We are planning for various scenarios, including diversifying supply lines, if the situation changes,” the spokesman said.
On Saturday, US President Barack Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank in an apparent bid to punish foreign companies and banks that do business with the Iranian financial institution.
The bill aims to prevent refiners across the world from paying for Iran’s oil, while the European Union is considering measures that would ban its member states from importing the crude.
Read More:http://www.presstv.ir/detail/219297.html
China wants to set up bases in Pakistan, reveals intelligence report
China might be allowed to use Pakistan‘s military facilities, a secret intelligence report accessed by Headlines Today has revealed.
The intelligence report has set alarm bells ringing in the government circles. Moreover, all this
is being done without any public announcement.
China has been keen on building military bases in federally administered tribal areas (FATA) in the northwest region of Pakistan. In the last few months there have been several high level meetings of Pakistani and Chinese officials.
The intelligence report says: "China’s desire for a military presence in Pakistan has been discussed by the political and military leadership of that country in the recent months. China’s deepening strategic penetration of Pakistan and joint plans to set up… oil pipelines/rail/roads as well as naval and military bases are a matter of concern."
According to the assessment report, Chinese presence in this area might enable People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to counter the Muslims separatists operating from this part of Pakistan for terrorist activities in its Xinjiang province.
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/china-wants-to-set-up-bases-in-pakistan/1/167052.html?id=3922
China, Russia want to inspect downed U.S. drone
TEHRAN – An informed source in the Iranian military has said that Russian and Chinese officials have asked for permission to inspect the U.S. spy drone that was recently downed by the Iranian Armed Forces, Nasimonline.ir reported on Wednesday. 
On Sunday, an unidentified Iranian military source said that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic had downed an advanced RQ-170 unmanned U.S. spy plane, which had violated the country’s airspace along the eastern border.
There are unconfirmed reports that Iran may put the drone on public display.
According to the Washington Post, the RQ-170 drone has been used by the CIA for highly sensitive missions into other nations’ airspace, including months of surveillance of the compound in Pakistan in which Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was allegedly hiding before he was killed in an attack by Special Operations forces on May 1, 2011.
On Monday, U.S. military officials said that they are concerned that Tehran may now have an opportunity to acquire information about the classified surveillance drone program, AP reported.
U.S. officials considered conducting a covert mission inside Iran to retrieve or destroy the stealth drone but ultimately concluded such a secret operation wasn’t worth the risk of provoking a more explosive clash with Tehran, a U.S. official said, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Source:http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics/93294-china-russia-want-to-inspect-downed-us-drone
Iran Moves Forces To War Alert
Whether it is just posturing or this time Iran feels it has little to lose, following a spate of mysterious explosions and a downed US attack drone (for those who can put 2 and 2 together), it seems that the oil-rich country is increasingly seeing war as the probable endspiel. YNet reports that Iran is "moving missiles to secret sites, Western officials tell British paper; earlier, Tehran residents reported to stockpile goods, fearing imminent strike. The commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards has ordered his forces to raise their operational readiness ahead of a possible war or strike on the country’s nuclear facilities, the Telegraph reported late Monday." The move is for now precautionary: "The British newspaper quoted Western intelligence sources as saying that Iran is repositioning ballistic missiles, explosives and troops into defensive positions, in order to offer a quick response in the case of an attack by Israel or the United States." And while all this is happening, Iran is busy shipping of the downed US drone to the highest regional bidder (with substantial reverse engineering skills).
Read More:http://www.zerohedge.com/news/iran-moves-forces-war-alert
Chinese Government Official: ‘US Threat To Pakistan Is Threat To China’
The Chinese military has staged a massive wargame exercise near Pakistan in response to a build-up of U.S. troops in the region as a top Chinese government official warned that any threat to Pakistan would be taken as a direct threat to China.
Citing a report by China’s Central Television, Junshijia reports that an unnamed government official warned, “Any threat to Pakistan is a threat to China,” in response to increasing hostility directed towards Pakistan by both the US and NATO in the aftermath of a NATO bombing that killed 26 Pakistani soldiers last week.
Pakistan responded to the airstrike by sealing its border with Afghanistan, preventing supplies from reaching the US-occupied country.
According to the report, the United States is massing troops on Pakistan’s border in an act of aggression that China sees as a direct threat to its close alliance with the country. In response, China recently sent large numbers of Second Artillery PLA troops armed with sophisticated DF-21C and short-range DF-11A tactical missiles to China’s northwestern plateau near Pakistan for a huge military exercise designed to reflect China’s “attitude towards the US threat to Pakistan.”
The drill ran from the 14-27 of November and included Pakistani troops. It was also reported by numerous other Chinese news sources (1,2,3).
The report strongly emphasizes the Chinese position that its alliance with Pakistan represents a “brotherhood,” and that “China will never be in peace if Pakistan is lost.”
“Militarily, China will be conducting massive and heavy equipment desert warfare in Pakistan on the 16th,” states the translated report. “America has always desired Pakistan, especially in recent years. As the U.S. war in Afghanistan deepens, and military actions against Iran’s determination become stronger, (the threat of ) confrontation with China increases, Pakistan is the place for America to gain military advantage strategically and geographically.”
As we reported earlier, while China’s official rhetoric in English language media regarding hostilities towards the likes of Pakistan and Iran has taken on a concerned tone, discussions taking place inside China itself are a great deal more bellicose.
China ‘hiding up to 3,000 nuclear warheads in secret tunnels’
An unconventional project by US university students has concluded that China’s nuclear arsenal could be many times larger than current estimates, drawing the attention of Pentagon analysts. 
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Georgetown University students under the instruction of a former Pentagon official have assembled the largest body of public knowledge yet about a vast network of secret tunnels dug by China’s secretive Second Artillery Corps, responsible for nuclear warheads.
The 363-page study has not yet been published, but has already sparked a congressional hearing and been circulated among top US defence officials, including the Air Force vice chief of staff, the Post reported.
"It’s not quite a bombshell, but those thoughts and estimates are being checked against what people think they know based on classified information," it quoted an unnamed Defense Department strategist as saying.
The newspaper said critics of the report had questioned the students methods, which included using internet-based sources like Google Earth, blogs, military journals and even a fictionalised Chinese TV show.
But the Post also said the students were able to obtain a 400-page manual produced by the Second Artillery and usually only available to Chinese military personnel.
China regulator bans TV advertisements during dramas
China has ordered a ban on advertisements during TV dramas as part of its reform of cultural activities.
Adverts will not be allowed in the middle of programme
s lasting for 45 minutes from 1 January next year.
The authorities said this was in line with the "spirit" of a recent Communist Party meeting.
Senior leaders said then that they wanted to develop a "socialist culture", although they did not elaborate on exactly what that means.
TV stations are clear about what this latest move means for them though – they say it will result in a loss of revenue.
The latest announcement was made by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) on its website.
It said the regulation was being introduced as part of a new attitude towards culture, outlined at the party’s Central Committee meeting in October.
"Radio and television are a mouthpiece of the party and the people – an important propaganda front in cultural thought," read the SARFT statement.
An organisation spokesman told Xinhua, the state-run news agency, that the aim was to make TV shows conform to "public interests and aspirations".
"In the long-run, the move will help TV dramas develop in a scientific and healthy manner," said the unidentified spokesman.
Read More:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-15933297
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