Click here for original article
As many of you have heard by now, there was an eleventh hour deal between US and the major emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and South Africa when I was looking bleak. Before going through the merits of this deal, I will first explain why this issue is so important to me. I grew up in possibly the most polluted place in the world. CNN ran a story about Linfen, http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/15/china.pollution/index.html, which is right next to my hometown. I know there are a lot of questions, especially from the Republicans in America, regarding whether or not global warming is really valid. I think that if ever lived in my hometown, you would think that global warming is a reality. In the span of the 26 years of my life time, the average high temperature of a summer time has gone from mid 20s to mid 30s. The kind of environment degradation in my hometown is truly extraordinary. The water level dropped so much that what used to be a shallow river no longer exists. They had to fill that area with tap water to give the illusion that it’s still a river. When it’s really hot and dry in summer time, you can see dry land with huge cracks. Even the famous yellow river is completely dried up in the summer time around where I came from. The air quality is so bad that I catch some form of respiratory sickness every time I go back there and can never get well until leaving the country. I can go on talking about how the sinful nature of men have destroyed this amazing world that we live in, but I would be spending the next 4 pages talking about all the bad things i have seen in China alone. I think that the change in climate is partly due to the natural climate change, but mostly due to the damage done by us. If the temperature continues to go up the way it does, there will be increased drought problems around the world. Water will become more and more scarce for certain countries. In other countries, they’d have the opposite effect of too much precipitation leading to hurricanes and tsunamis. And with polar ice caps melting, the international water level would rise to the point where millions of people will be displaced. The sad part is that the developing countries that contribute the least to carbon emissions and can afford the least to help out on emissions cut will end up suffering the most from climate change. There have already been talks about many Pacific islands getting swallowed up by the Ocean in the next 50 years. I’m more concerned about areas like Bangladesh where over 100 billion people could be displaced due to elevation in water level. And what about New York? Manhattan would be swallowed up if water level is elevated as much as the projection.

But what if all of the scientific theories are wrong and all the global warming in the past 20 years are occurring naturally? Even if that’s case, the world would become a much less polluted and environmentally damaging place by using less fossil fuel, have more stringent emission standards and use more efficient plants. Who would really complain about breathing in air with less toxin? During the elections, everyone complained about how America is overly reliant on the Middle East for energy usage. At the same time, many of the major oil fields (like Ghawar Field in Saudi Arabia, Cantarell Field in Mexico and Daqing in China) around the world have all hit the so called peak oil and are not declining in production. There are still oil sands in Canada and deep water oil deposits off Florida and the Green River Formation oil shale around Colorado. However, you start running into the problem where the amount of energy used to extract is actually greater than the oil extracted. For example, the core of Earth has the highest grade of untapped iron deposits, but is anyone actually stupid enough to try to extract those iron ore? As a result of the oil/natural gas production decline and the increase need for them around the world, America will be fighting for that shrinking share of oil production with China and India. By necessity, the entire world would have to eventually switch to using renewable or re-usable source of energy.

Because of all the above, I was really nervous leading up to Copenhagen. I knew of the great divide between the developing countries and developed countries, so was really worried that nothing would get worked out. As it stands, the agreement was regarded by numerous European countries as not enough. I think that view is way too pessimistic. Even though China and India have not given a specific year when their emissions would peak, they have agreed to at least set some kind of firm target and have agreed to some form of international verification. When it comes to China, face is an extremely important part of the culture and the communist leaders don’t like to look bad in front of others. Under international scrutiny, I really don’t see China backing off on the commitments that it made this week to the world. I really think Obama did a great job in emphasizing the idea that this is the first step in concluding something that is truly worthwhile and effective over the long run. I believe that by the UN conference in Mexico City next year, this deal would have moved further along. It would take a while for the last minute concessions by China, India, Brazil and South Africa to really put in a legally binding agreement. I don’t think China will stop at 40-45% energy intensity cut. Having seen their past efforts, they will most likely achieve a larger cut through their current efforts in nuclear/wind/solar power expansion and more stringent fuel efficiency/emissions standards. Of course, it’s also important for Europeans to achieve their stated goal of 25% emission cut from 1990 levels. It is also important for US to actually offer something better than a 1.3% emission cut from 1990 levels. Compared to EU and Japan, US and Canada are really not doing that much to help the global efforts. Having lived in these 2 countries for the better parts of my life, I’m quite ashamed of that. In the midst of the great economic downturn in the past 70 years, it’s really hard for any country to make sacrifices while others stand pat. I’m just glad that we have finally started the process of really trying to cooperate on this globally. Even if what we have now is not perfect, we can hope for greater international pressure to yield more firm targets and a legally binding agreement that could save our planet.

By Feng

Click here for original article

ISLAMABAD – The first squadron of fighter jet JF-17 Thunder, a joint Pakistan-China production, was on Thursday inducted in Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fleet.

A special ceremony was held for this purpose at PAF airbase near Kamra Aeronautical Complex, about 50km from here. Chief of Air Staff Rao Qamar Suleman formally received the squadron.

In his address, the Air Chief congratulated the nation and said it is a historic day for PAF and entire nation.

JF-17 Thunder aircraft is an advanced multi-role light combat aircraft jointly developed by Chengdu and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex under a strategic collaboration project. The aircraft is designed to be cost-effective and can meet the tactical and strategic needs of the Pakistan Air Force, and various other air forces.

The production facilities have been set up for the aircraft in Pakistan. The first batch of 50 JF-17 Thunder aircraft has been equipped with the Chinese/Pakistani avionics and missiles, while the later aircrafts are to be equipped with more advanced radars and missiles.

France offered Pakistan its RC-400 radar and MBDA MICA missile for the aircraft.

The serial production of JF-17 Thunder has already started and the production capacity would be gradually taken to 25 aircraft per year by 2011.

About 60 per cent of the aircraft’s frame and 80 per cent of its avionics have 
been manufactured in Pakistan.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/February/international_February910.xml&section=international

By polaris

Click here for original article
As PLAN really started to expand in the mid-2000s, we noticed a growing need for naval helicopters. And as military shipbuilding program continued in the past few years, the need for more helicopters only grew greater. In the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, everyone saw China’s lack of helicopters and how that slowed down the rescue efforts. In the recent naval deployments to the Gulf of Aden, PLAN became even more aware of its helicopter shortage. One of the analysts wrote that the 3-ships flotilla to Aden was hampered by only having 2 helicopters. Helicopters have been really important in chasing down pirates and rescuing ships that are under-siege. The Chinese flotilla has obviously been hampered operationally due to this problem. On top of that, PLAN will need more order more naval helicopters for its future carrier and escorts.

The existing fleet of naval helicopters consist of Z-9Cs, different variants of Z-8s and Ka-28s. Ka-28s are used primarily for the destroyers and 054As. In the 90s, the ordered 8 Ka-28s from Russia as part of the Sov purchase for ASW and SAR missions. I think they have added some more Ka-28s since (we’ve seen Ka-28 pictures with newer serial numbers), but the total would still be around 12 to 16. There are about 18 ships in PLAN with hangars designed for Ka-28s (including 4 Sovs, 4 052B/Cs, 2 054 and 6 054As), so they really don’t have enough Ka-28s. You end up with situations where one of these ships would be carrying the smaller Z-9C or with no helicopter at all. Recently, they ordered 9 more Ka-28s from Russia to support the new DDGs and 054As under construction. Six of the nine Ka-28s have already been delivered. I think more Ka-28s are needed before the next generation of naval helicopter becomes available. In the recent years, Z-9s have proliferated in PLA as all of the production bottlenecks have finally been resolved. They are even exporting 6 Z-9Cs to Pakistan as part of the F-22P deal. Surprisingly though, I have not really seen pictures of new Z-9Cs coming into service, even though it appears that PLAN is satisfied with their performance. Despite it’s small size, ASW version of Z-9Cs have been designed to carry torpedoes and dipping sonar. In gulf of Aden, Z-9s have also been put to good use to hunt down pirates. My guess is that PLAN just wants to wait until Z-15 is ready to join service, but that will probably take another 5 years. And finally, Z-8s are making quite a comeback in PLAN. We’ve seen Z-8 productions ramping up in the recent year with newer variants like Z-8K, Z-8KA and Z-8KH joining service with PLA and PLAAF. They are also building civilian versions of Z-8 for firefighting and transportation, but we’ve also seen many new Z-8J/Hs joining service. Z-8J/Hs have been seen operating off 051Cs, 866, replenishment ships and 998. With newer large ships coming into service, I certainly expect to see more variants of Z-8s getting orders. At this point, Z-8s are really too big to operate on any of the destroyers, Frigates or smaller warships, so the current production level is more than sufficient. In general, I think more small and medium size helicopters like Z-9Cs and Ka-28s are needed for all their new frigates and destroyers, but the larger warships are doing okay with all the new variants of Z-8s.

Having looked at the current state of naval helicopter in PLAN, what does the future hold? I think that the current hi-lo combination of Ka-28 and Z-9Cs are nearing the end of their shelf life. The Z-15 and 10 ton helo projects will form the backbone of naval helicopter in the future. Z-15 would take over the role of Z-9Cs on frigates and smaller ships. Compared to Z-9C, it is larger, can carry more mission equipments (whether for ASW or SAR), have longer ranger/speed, have better flight performance and far more advanced avionics. The 10-ton project would take over the role of Ka-28 on destroyers and amphibious ships. It would basically become the Chinese equivalent of SH-60. Recently, we heard the news that China is trying to use European turboshaft engines for Z-15 instead of PWC turboshaft engine. The US government pressure against PWC for exporting PT67 turbo shafts to China put a temporary halt to the Z-10 project. At the same time, China had no problems in continuing Z-9G production, because it obtained all the necessary export licenses to have local production of Arriel-2C turboshaft engine. Fearing that US government might do something similar to prevent PT67 engines from being installed on PLAN Z-15s, China is seeking for alternative suppliers. If the US government somehow pressures the Europeans to also back off, China would then turn to the Ukrainians (Motor-Sich) or wait for a local engine to become available. I think that’s what will happen with the 10 ton helo project. We have not heard much about it, because it is not a collaborative effort like Z-15. We do know that it will most likely start off with an engine from Motor-Sich (which produces engine for Mi-17) before shifting to the domestic engine WZ-10. Since China is developing this alone, I would expect it to finish development after Z-15 joins service. This would also explain why Ka-28 is getting newer orders, while Z-9C is not. And finally, we have seen a recent news that China put in an order for 9 Ka-31 from Russia. Back in 2006, they ordered 15 Ka-31s, but that contract never got fulfilled due to the IL-76 fiasco. I had thought that the Z-8 AEW project would take away the need for Ka-31s, but I guess PLAN does not feel confident that Z-8 AEW will be fully ready by the time Varyag gets fixed up. Z-8 AEW is apparently going to use the new AC-313 (which is a heavily modified version of Z-8 currently under development) as its platform. I can see that Varyag would use mostly Ka-31 and test out some Z-8s. Once Z-8 AEW becomes mature, the future carriers should be using it instead of Ka-31s.

In conclusion, China has ordered 18 kamov helicopters recently, because the domestic options are not ready yet. Once the domestic projects are complete, we can expect to see a force consisting of Z-15 for smaller ships, 10-ton helo for middle ships and Z-8s for larger ships and carriers.

By Feng

Click here for original article
Perhaps Shenyang Liming is trying to win back public confident by releasing Taihang production photos after the SAC outed the “Engine-Less-J-11b” last month. (here)Counter-public relations strike, PRC SOE style.Chief designer Zhong Enhe
By Coatepeque

China Military Power Mashup

via Russia’s NPO Saturn will supply D-30KP-2 engines to China.

December.04 (China Military News reporting by Johnathan Weng) — The first batch of D-30KP-2 production of NPO Saturn, made under the contract between Rosoboron-export and China, has been handed over the Chinese customer and the rest part will be transferred to China before the end of this year. Signing of Acceptance of eight engines of the first batch was held at NPO Saturn on Nov. 30, 2009

The Chinese delegation also noted with satisfaction the rapid development of enterprise in the creation of modern aviation turbofan engine with new high-tech equipment.

The subsequent contract of Saturn plans to maintain the activities of production and delivery of another four batches of D-30KP-2, which the company intends to complete in 2011. According to resource fro NPO Saturn, the second, third and fourth acceptance of D-30KP-2 will be respectively scheduled February, May and October 2010, and last part will fe finished at the beginning of 2011

In general the contract, which made between Rosoboron-export and China, entered into force in April 2009. NPO Saturn is obliged to put the Chinese customer 55 D-30KP-2 engines prior to the 2012 Contract and also provides technical support during the warranty period .

Program of Action “NPO” Saturn “is the creation of a national company, globally competitive gas turbine products and technologies

Saturn provides marketing, design, production, sales and after sales support of gas turbine technology in three main areas: military programs, civil aviation programs, energy engineering program.

It is usually believed that these D-30KP-2 engine will be installed on Chinese Air Force H-6K bombers and IL-76MD Transporter fleet..

China in huge Venezuela oil deal: “By Will Grant
BBC News, Caracas

Venezuela has announced a $16bn (£10bn) investment deal with China for oil exploration in the Orinoco river.

The move comes shortly after Venezuela signed a similar agreement with Russia, which is estimated to be $20bn (£12bn).

President Hugo Chavez said the deals would boost oil production in Venezuela by about 900,000 barrels per day.

Investors in Venezuela’s oil industry have complained for months that a lack of government investment in infrastructure has hurt production.

Multi-polar world

Speaking on state television, Mr Chavez said the deal with China was over three years and that the investment would go towards developing heavy crude oil resources in the Orinoco River belt.

For President Chavez it is part of a wider effort to increase his base of bilateral partners in the oil industry.

The socialist leader often speaks of what he calls a “multi-polar world” in which Latin American countries are less dependent on Washington.

However, US companies and the US government are still the mainstay of the Venezuelan energy industry.

The Venezuelan leader will hope that these multibillion dollar deals, signed with countries which are more friendly to his “21st Century Socialist Revolution”, will give him further economic independence from Washington.

Russia tightens grip on oil supplies: “

Russia overtakes Saudi Arabia as top exporter – and uncertainty continues over Ukraine pipelines

Russia’s stranglehold over dwindling global energy resources was dramatically confirmed yesterday when new figures showed that the country has become the world’s biggest exporter of oil.

With production in August hitting record levels, Russia toppled Saudi Arabia from the number one spot. It is already the world’s largest exporter of gas, and supplies around a third of the European Union’s consumption.

The news is likely to heighten unease in EU capitals over the Kremlin’s tightening grip on energy reserves. There are fears of a repeat of January’s debilitating gas war between Russia and Ukraine – which saw winter supplies to EU consumers cut off for weeks. Members of Opec agreed to cut oil production last year in response to the economic crisis. Moscow indicated last December that it would follow suit but instead ramped up production in the second quarter of 2009, as new fields in Siberia came on stream.

Russia produced almost 10 million barrels of oil a day in August, according to International Energy Agency figures – a post-Soviet record. Relations with other oil producing countries are likely to come under increasing strain, since Russia is now profiting from Opec production cuts.

‘The fear is that Russia will get a big head,’ Andrew Neff, an oil analyst with Global Insight in Washington, told the Observer. ‘Not only is it the world’s largest gas exporter but now the world’s biggest oil exporter as well. The question is will Russia want to exploit its feeling of superiority and demand a seat not just at the table, but at the head of the table.’

Yesterday, however, the head of the Russian energy giant Gazprom denied claims that gas and oil supplies were used as a political weapon – insisting that the country was a reliable supplier. Alexei Miller said that the EU would remain Russia’s most important client, despite the construction of new pipelines to supply China.

Opec, Miller said, was no longer calling the shots in determining the world price of oil, currently around $70 (£42) a barrel. He also said that Ukraine – through which 80% of the EU’s gas travels – was paying for its own supplies on time. But he warned of a possible crisis in early February, two weeks after Ukrainians go to the polls to elect a new president on 17 January.

‘I must say at the moment relations [with Ukraine] could not be better. I think there will be no problems until December. My Ukrainian colleagues say they will use between $20m and $30m in reserves to pay for Russian gas until the end of 2009,’ Miller said.

He added, however, that he wasn’t sure Ukraine would be able to settle its debts to Gazprom in 2010: ‘When I met my colleagues from Naftogaz [Ukraine's state gas company] I asked them whether they will be able to pay next year. They replied to me in words I cannot repeat in polite company. They could be translated as: ‘We don’t know’.’

Analysts say that there is a strong probability of another damaging gas war between Moscow and Kiev, which could halt deliveries to the EU. ‘The question is whether Ukraine will try to blackmail Gazprom and Europe. We have a very divisive presidential election coming up [in Ukraine]. There is a perfect storm brewing,’ Neff predicted.

One leading Russian oil executive said that the international community should not be alarmed about Russian production. ‘Russia has about 6% of the world’s proven oil reserves,’ Segei Bogdanchikov, president of the Russian state oil company Rosneft, told the Observer. ‘We have 40% of the world’s oil resources.’ Making a distinction between resources – that is, oil which has so far not been tapped and may not be extractable – and definite reserves, Bogdanchikov said: ‘We understand that resources are not oil in the field. On the other hand 6% allows us to look safely into the future. We are sure that resources are going to be reserves. We will act responsibly.’

Over the past decade Russia has recovered its economic and international prestige largely because of the massive increase in energy prices. The main beneficiary has been Vladimir Putin, who has claimed credit for delivering increased prosperity to Russia’s 142 million citizens. The biggest winners, however, have been Russia’s oil-connected elite, who now enjoy lavish lifestyles.

Russia, however, has been badly battered by the global economic crisis, with GDP shrinking by more than 10% in the first half of 2009. The Russian government has been deeply anxious about the spectre of social unrest spreading across the country. The recent rise in oil prices has apparently banished such fears.

Yesterday Putin – currently Russia’s prime minister – struck an optimistic note. He said that Russia was ‘modestly’ edging out of recession, with growth of around 1% a month since June.