Northern Thunder military exercises begin in Saudi Arabia

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• Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Senegal, Sudan, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Chad, Tunisia, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Malaysia, Egypt, Mauritania, and Mauritius.
• 350,000 Military Troops, 2,450 Air Fighters, 20,000 Artillery Tanks, 460 Helicopters

Manama: Troops from Oman, Egypt and Kuwait and several other countries have arrived in Saudi Arabia to take part in the largest military exercise in the region, in terms of participating countries and equipment.

At least 20 countries from Arab and Islamic countries are scheduled to participate in the North Thunder war games in the northern region of the kingdom, Saudi reports said on Monday.

The participating countries are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Senegal, Sudan, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Chad, Tunisia, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Malaysia, Egypt, Mauritania, and Mauritius.

The equipment that reflects the quantitative and qualitative weapons the forces will be using will include fighter jets of different models, a wide range of artillery, tanks, infantry, air defence systems, and naval forces.

The official Twitter account for North Thunder said the exercises were being held at King Khalid Military City in Hafr Al Batin from February 14 until March 10.

“A military exercise will be commanded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the participation of 20 countries and the Peninsula Shield force as well,” the account said. “The main objective is to demonstrate the high combat readiness of the participating armed forces and their readiness and ability to function successfully in joint operations,” the account said.

More than 200,000 people started following the account hours after it was launched to cover the military exercises.

The Peninsula Shield is the military arm of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the alliance that comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The exercise will be a clear message that Saudi Arabia and its allies “stand united in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region”, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The manoeuvres are taking place months after Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of 35 Arab and Muslim countries to fight terrorism and “push back and confront the terrorists and those who promote their violent ideologies.”

Last week, Saudi Arabia sent aircraft to Incirlik airbase in Turkey to assist in the fight against terrorists from the terror Daesh group in Syria.

Source : GulfNews

China state news agency criticizes US-Philippines base deal

BEIJING (AP) — China harshly criticized the Philippine Supreme Court's backing of a defense pact allowing American forces, warships and planes to be based temporarily in local military camps, with an editorial in state media Wednesday calling the move "stupid" and warning of consequences.

The strongly worded editorial in the official Xinhua News Agency said the agreement would "only escalate tensions and undermine peace and stability in the region."

Manila "appears to be now turning to Uncle Sam to back its ambition to counter China," the article said, employing a phrase harkening back to the Cold War.

The court's ruling Tuesday declaring the pact constitutional bolsters U.S. efforts to reassert its presence in Asia and dovetails with Philippine desires for American help in countering China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Washington immediately welcomed the court's decision, saying the defense pact will bolster both countries' ability to respond to disasters and strengthen the Philippines' military.

Xinhua dismissed such assertions as attempts to rationalize an ill-advised move. "Manila has to bear the negative consequences of its stupid move in the future," it said.

Nearly a century of U.S. military presence in the Philippines ended in 1992 when Filipino senators voted not to renew the leases on American bases amid a tide of nationalism.

China responded almost immediately by ramping up its presence in the South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines. Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the strategically vital sea through which around $5 trillion in world trade passes each year.

Recent years have seen Manila turn to Washington as it scrambles to strengthen its military, one of the worst equipped in Asia.

Tensions have been especially high since Beijing transformed seven disputed reefs into islands on which it is now constructing runways and facilities that rival claimants say can be used militarily.

The Philippines accused China of using flashing lights and flares to challenge Philippine military flights over the contested Spratly Islands and protested recent test flights by China to its newly built island airstrips.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei rejected the Philippine protest at a briefing Thursday, saying China was operating completely within its rights.

"The Philippines' accusation is out of ulterior motives and is not worth a comment," Hong said.

Su Hao, an international relations expert at China Foreign Affairs University, said Washington is likely to have engineered the court's decision to uphold the pact, a claim also made by Xinhua without offering evidence. Filipino leftists opposed the decision and have said they will consider filing an appeal.

Su said China may feel compelled to respond by boosting its own military presence in the region, in which both its navy and coast guard operate constantly.

"It may lead to the direct military confrontation in the South China Sea between China and the United States, therefore having a negative impact on the current situation of the region," Su said.

Source YahooNews

Indonesia executions: Australia recalls ambassador

Australia has recalled its ambassador from Indonesia after two Australian men were executed for drug smuggling.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were among eight people from several countries executed by firing squad shortly after midnight on Wednesday on the prison island of Nusakambangan.

Brazil's government also expressed its "deep dismay" at the execution of one of its citizens, Rodrigo Gularte.

But the execution of a Philippine woman was called off at the last minute.

Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso was spared after her government appealed to Indonesia, saying a woman she had accused of planting drugs on her had handed herself in.

Australia had mounted a lengthy diplomatic campaign to save Chan and Sukumaran, convicted in 2006 of being the ringleaders of a group of Australian heroin traffickers known as the Bali Nine.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Tuesday that the executions were "both cruel and unnecessary," saying Chan and Sukumaran had been "fully rehabilitated" while in prison.

"We respect Indonesia's sovereignty but we do deplore what's been done and this cannot be simply business as usual," he said.

"For that reason, once all the courtesies have been extended to the Chan and Sukumaran families our ambassador will be withdrawn for consultations."

Indonesia is an important country to Australia, the BBC's Jon Donnison says, with the two working closely together on asylum seekers and terrorism issues.

This is the first time Australia has recalled an ambassador from Indonesia, and its first ever recall over the execution of one of its citizens abroad.

Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo defended the executions, saying his country was fighting a "war" on drugs.

Analysis: Karishma Vaswani, BBC Indonesia editor

Joko Widodo, Indonesia's president, has publicly declared a war on drugs and said he will refuse all clemency applications from convicted drug traffickers - a stance that could prove legally problematic given that the very point of a presidential clemency is to evaluate each individual on a case-by-case basis.

But that will be little comfort to the families of the eight people who were executed.

Indonesia risks souring relations with other nations over its hardline approach, as it has already with Australia, home of two of the smugglers. But Indonesia's new president appears willing to take the risk, even if it means tarnishing his own reputation as a liberal, reform-minded leader.

Joko Widodo stands firm

Viewpoints: Are Australia-Indonesia ties at risk?

The families of the condemned prisoners paid them final, emotional visits on Monday afternoon before the sentences were carried out.

All eight refused offers of blindfolds, and were singing together in their final moments, a pastor present at the execution told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hours after the executions, ambulances left the prison island, taking the prisoners' bodies to their chosen funeral sites in Indonesia or their home countries.

Brazil's government later issued a statement saying the execution of Gularte marked "a serious event in the relations between the two countries".

Gularte's family had said he had schizophrenia and should not have been on death row.

The statement said Indonesia "had not been sensitive to President [Dilma] Rousseff's humanitarian plea".

Gularte was the second Brazilian to be executed for drug smuggling in Indonesia in four months. Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira was killed by firing squad at Nusakambangan in January, prompting Brazil to recall its ambassador.

But there was delight on Monday for the family of Philippine woman Veloso, after her execution was called off at the last minute following a request by the Philippine president.

Her mother described the last minute reprieve as a "miracle".

"We are so happy, I can't believe it. I can't believe my child will live," Celia Veloso told Philippine radio station DZMM.

Sonny Coloma, a spokesman for the Philippine president, told the BBC he was "relieved and thankful" but stressed "the death sentence on her has not been lifted".

"What was done was a stay or a reprieve on her execution. That's why we're appealing that a new opportunity be given for her to give additional testimony that would clarify that she is a victim of a trafficking syndicate."

Hundreds of protesters had been keeping vigil outside the Indonesian embassy in the Philippines awaiting the news.

Who were the executed prisoners?

§  Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan

§  Ghanaian Martin Anderson

§  Indonesian Zainal Abidin bin Mgs Mahmud Badarudin

§  Nigerians Raheem Agbaje Salami, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Okwudili Oyatanze

§  Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte

§  Frenchman Serge Areski Atlaoui and Filipina Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso were spared as they have ongoing appeals

Jon Donnison: Double standards over Bali Nine

A Frenchman also convicted of drug offences, Serge Areski Atlaoui, was originally due to be executed with the group but has an appeal outstanding.

The French government said it "reiterates its opposition to the death sentence, in all cases and all circumstances".

Indonesia has some of the toughest drug laws in the world and ended a four-year moratorium on executions in 2013.

It says it takes a hard line because of the country's own drugs problem - 33 Indonesians die every day as a result of drugs, according to Indonesia's National Narcotics Agency.

Source +BBC News 

Tagged +BBC News