MOSCOW STRENGTHENS MISSILE SHIELD
Russia is not sitting idly by while the specifics of a European missile defense shield are slowly worked out. The Hindu (July 25) reports that Moscow is pressing forward with efforts to modernize its own missile defense system. According to the Indian daily, Russia is in the process of constructing and testing a system netting together S-300 and S-400 anti-missile units, and capable of providing coverage to two-thirds of the country, with initial operational capability expected as soon as this December. Lieutenant General Valery Ivanov, commander of the Russian air and space forces, announced the system's enhancements on the same day that Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin held meetings with U.S. senior leaders to discuss the prospects for bilateral missile defense cooperation. The message was clear: if the European missile defense system targets Russian Strategic missiles, the Russian system will be modified to target those of Europe.
MAPPING THE MUSUDAN
A new Japanese white paper has warned of North Korea's expanding missile capabilities. The official study, reports the Associated Press (August 1), details Pyongyang's progress in fielding the "Musudan," a nuclear-capable, road-mobile missile with a range of up to 2,500 miles - making it capable of reaching parts of Japan and the territory of Guam, areas where the U.S. has over 50,000 troops stationed.
KEEPING UP WITH THE (NUCLEAR) JONESES
Pakistan’s military is on track to produce a record number - some two dozen - of nuclear-capable short-range missiles this year as part of its ongoing efforts to keep pace with its neighbor and regional rival, India. According to Pakistan's Express Tribune (July 25), Pakistani sources say the military's goal is to bolster missile capabilities to achieve “strategic parity in the region” and maintain “minimum deterrence... especially against India.” Islamabad's new focus on missile development comes in response to growing nuclear cooperation between the U.S., India and France.
TURKEY: THE WEAK LINK IN NATO DEFENSES?
Much to the chagrin of NATO officials, Turkey is accepting bids from defense contractors across the globe for its planned missile defense system. Officials in Brussels, worried over the potential seepage of classified intelligence to countries such as Russia and China, have warned Ankara not to install systems from non-Alliance countries in order to avoid leaks, Defense News reports in its August 2nd edition. "If, say, the Chinese win the competition, their systems will be in interaction, directly or indirectly, with NATO's intelligence systems, and this may lead to the leak of critical NATO information to the Chinese, albeit inadvertently. So this is dangerous," the trade weekly cites one Western analyst as saying. At least some observers, however, believe Turkey's flirtation with Russian and Chinese wares to be tactical, and economically motivated. "One explanation is that Turkey itself doesn't plan to select the Chinese or Russian alternatives eventually, but still is retaining them among their options to put pressure on the Americans and the Europeans to curb their prices."
RETHINKING THE INF TREATY
Recent advancements in missile technology by untrustworthy regimes like Iran and North Korea should prompt retooling of a key Cold War-era treaty, two leading arms control experts have argued. The Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by the U.S. and USSR in 1988 "has far outlived its usefulness in its current form — so it should either be changed or thrown out," write former Undersecretary of State John Bolton and Assistant Secretary of State Paula DeSutter in an op-ed in the August 15th Wall Street Journal. The agreement successfully drew down Soviet and U.S. nuclear arsenals by outlawing ground-launched ballistic missiles between 500 and 5,500 kilometers in range. But, Bolton and DeSutter point out, since the end of the Cold War "nations not covered by the treaty have been steadily increasing their missile capabilities, especially in the intermediate ranges." The result is a growing list of nations that threaten U.S. interests, allies and deployed forces.
So what can be done? "To reduce the threat from INF-range missiles," the authors say, "we must either expand the INF Treaty's membership or abrogate it entirely so that we can rebuild our own deterrent capabilities."
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