Author: The Proletariat

Author Bruce W. MacDonald of the Council on Foreign Relations has come out with an interesting overview assessing the future of military operations in space. The report comes in the wake of China and the United States’ successful use of anti-satellite weapons over the last two years.

Satellites have become a vital part of modern military operations, providing information and intelligence to armed forces across the globe while working from a remote location. As other nations develop similar devices to be deployed in space, the growing need for cooperation and regulation on these matters is needed.

The report calls for the development of “space diplomacy” to counter the troubling idea of space conflicts as countries construct sophisticated weapons that extend beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

In her first overseas trip as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton will be visiting Japan, South Korea, China, and Indonesia starting this Sunday. The choice of Asia as the location for Clinton’s first tour underscores how important the Obama administration holds future U.S. relations in the region, and rightly so. Many Asian economies have featured rapid growth and military expansion over the last few decades as they profit from an abundance of natural resources and increases in foreign direct investment.

The United States also plans to use its diplomatic presence in Asia to counter China’s growing influence in the region, particularly in Southeast Asia. Countries like Vietnam and Indonesia have seen a notable expansion of Chinese commercial interests in their countries, and the support of the United States as a counter-force is reassuring.

Citing the best interest of its shareholders, Australian based mining company Oz Minerals has agreed to sell their company to China’s Minmetals in a deal reportedly worth US$1.7 billion.

The deal comes as commodity prices continue to drop in response to the global economic downturn. Last week, Oz Minerals stated that commodity price-falls have led to an asset depreciation of almost US$1.3 billion.

Approval by Australian foreign investment regulators is still pending, which would make the deal between the two companies official.

“Minmetals intends to continue to operate Oz Minerals’ portfolio of assets, and its acquisition will provide the opportunity to support the development of Oz Minerals’ assets and projects,” said Zhou Zhongshu, chairman of Minmetals.