The Great Game Changer: Belt and Road Intiative (BRI; OBOR)

[Ind4Ever]

I think what is significant is to meet across the basic ideational lines supported by growing economic interaction. By basic ideational lines, I mean the principles of non-interference which, in fact, China constructed along with India as early as 1950s. I guess these ideas are well and functioning today, mostly, in the policies of these major powers.

Geopolitical lines are not that firmly drawn, I believe -- at least not as clearly as you state. We, for once, do not perceive Russia to be supporting any SCS actors at the cost of China's major interests. In the same manner, China's traditional friendship with Ukraine does not impinge upon Russia's strategic goals.

Small steps here and there won't alter the big picture -- that there emerges slowly an alternative order in Eurasia which does not necessarily take the US as the primordial enemy, but, which also does not subscribe to its vision of the world.

RIC can't take clear position on Syria, Global warming, Arms race, Un reforms etc. Many views between India and Russia converges but very less when it's India and China or in most cases Russia and China. This I belive future strategy where India Russia China dominates today's superior powers globally.Those days are still a fairy tale. As one war anywhere around the world could make sure defence oriented western powers to thrive for the next 3 decades. China and India has understood this power of local defence capabilities. Where India is too late to the party.

Let's see how our relationship will turn out to be. As China know India is its biggest competitor than threat and India knows China is its foremost greater threat than competitor. Both mindset are deviated in opposite directions. May be just may be Pakistan at the phase of its current economic growth will be weak to be a strategic partner or a pawn against India. At this stage it's obvious that sense will prevail for peace between both. China will do the same what US did with Pakistan in late 90s and 2000 and beyond. Double agent. Who tries to make both the parties happy. Well those time when India fully dependent on Russia and others but not anymore?

 

[TaiShang]

RIC: China and Russia are Unified over Security Issues, India is Seeking China's Support
2016-04-21, CRI

​

by Olga Sorokina

Shortly before the trilateral gathering involving diplomats from China, India and Russia on Monday, Lavrov pointed that the ministers and delegates were planning to discuss a wide range of issues, including UN reforms and counter-terrorism strategies. The meeting marked the 14th summit within the so-called RIC format since 2003.

"We will discuss how to interact in the UN and how to promote different initiatives. For sure, we cannot avoid the subject of the UN reforms, including the reform of the UN Security Council," said Lavrov.

Lavrov added that successful cooperation between the countries makes the world safer.

According to Russian Foreign minister, China and Russia has worked out a unified position on security issues. "We have consistently advocated these kind of /mutual/ decisions... we don't want to force any projects which don't receive a wide support and carry a risk to split the UN," emphasized Segey Lavrov.

However, the serving Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the issue of China blocking India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar.

During the RIC meeting on Monday she urged Russia, India and China to carry out the commitment to fight terrorism together.

"If we want to fulfill our commitment to fight terrorism, then they must rethink the position they have taken in the UNSC 1267 Committee", emphasized Swaraj. (The United Nations Security Council resolution 1267, adopted in October 1999, designates individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden or the Taliban wherever located as terrorists.)

"We need to give up the tendency to differentiate 'my terrorists' and 'your terrorists', the Indian diplomat said. At the RIC meeting I put forward these views quite frankly before my two counterparts from Russia and China," she added.

Previously India has said it is disappointed that a "technical hold" has been put by China on Indian application to include Pathankot terror attack initiator Masood Azhar in the UN sanctions list. China responded by saying India should consult with Pakistan.

"I think India needs to separate the issue of the listing of the terrorist from the issue of condemning Pakistan," Defence Expert Samir Saran commented the situation to The New India Express on Monday. Samir Saran is a Senior Fellow and Vice President at the Observer Research Foundation.

India should have a “heart-to- heart” dialogue with China to win its support at the United Nations to ban Masood Azhar, former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid has said.

“You cannot expect China to deliver unless we talk to them. This is not carrying a shopping list,” Khurshid previously told Press Trust of India (PTI) during

China-India Corporate Dialogue held April 11 in Changcha.

“If we have to make friends and we cannot be selfish in your demeanour and we have to be accommodative and willing,” he added. “I am sure China will respond and support. You need to have heart-to-heart conversation,” concluded Khurshid.

To recall, both China and Russia are among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. India has managed to secure greater support from Beijing and Moscow for its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Moving on a different subject, in reply to a question from Press Trust of India (PTI) on Chinese-Indian relations, Wang Yi responded that the difficult border issues would also ultimately be resolved.

"At the moment, the boundary negotiation is in the process of building up small positive developments. It is like climbing a mountain. The going is tough and that is only because we are on the way up. This is all the more reason that we should do more to strengthen China-India cooperation, so that we can enable and facilitate the settlement of the boundary question."

RIC will continue to carry out strategic coordination and cooperation to maintain international peace and security, continued Wang Yi. "We will start strategic cooperation on the development of Russia's Far Eastern region," working together in the fields of oil and gas and nuclear, and on high-speed rail.

The strategic partnership between Russia, India and China has a stabilising effect on the Eurasia area, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow on Monday, according to TASS.

The talks will continue as 26 members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and 12 observers will meet in Beijing on April 27-28 to discuss the cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. China’s MFA expressed a desire to see Sergey Lavrov as a head of a Russian delegation in Beijing.

Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi plan to address the question of the UN sanctions list in Beijing on April 21.

 

[Viet]

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/bu...eals-on-further-oil-and-gas-exploitation.html

Vietnam and Russia signed an inter-governmental agreement on further geological survey and oil and gas exploitation in Russia within the framework of the Vietnam-Russia oil and gas joint venture Rusvietpetro at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 20.

At the signing ceremony.


The two sides also inked a protocol amending the inter-governmental agreement dated December 27, 2010 on continued cooperation in geological survey and oil and gas exploitation in Vietnam’s continental shelf by Vietsovpetro.

Addressing the event, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the signing of the two documents reflects Vietnam and Russia’s policy of giving priority to developing bilateral cooperation on oil and gas energy.

Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Sentyurin Yuri Petrovich spoke highly of the Vietsovpetro and Rusvietpetro, considering them as a symbol of the traditional and strategic ties between Vietnam and Russia.

Both Rusvietpetro and Vietsovpetro are joint ventures between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the Zarubezhneft oil company of Russia.

Established on June 19, 1981, Vietsovpetro has tapped 220 million tonnes of crude oil, raking in over 74 billion USD and contributing nearly 47 billion USD to the State budget.

As of December 31, 2015, Rusvietpetro, which was formed on December 15, 2009, pumped over 13 million tonnes of crude oil, earning more than 5 billion USD, said General Director of the Directorate of Energy Dang Hung Cuong.

 

[Jlaw]

RIC: China and Russia are Unified over Security Issues, India is Seeking China's Support
2016-04-21, CRI

​

by Olga Sorokina

Shortly before the trilateral gathering involving diplomats from China, India and Russia on Monday, Lavrov pointed that the ministers and delegates were planning to discuss a wide range of issues, including UN reforms and counter-terrorism strategies. The meeting marked the 14th summit within the so-called RIC format since 2003.

"We will discuss how to interact in the UN and how to promote different initiatives. For sure, we cannot avoid the subject of the UN reforms, including the reform of the UN Security Council," said Lavrov.

Lavrov added that successful cooperation between the countries makes the world safer.

According to Russian Foreign minister, China and Russia has worked out a unified position on security issues. "We have consistently advocated these kind of /mutual/ decisions... we don't want to force any projects which don't receive a wide support and carry a risk to split the UN," emphasized Segey Lavrov.

However, the serving Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the issue of China blocking India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar.

During the RIC meeting on Monday she urged Russia, India and China to carry out the commitment to fight terrorism together.

"If we want to fulfill our commitment to fight terrorism, then they must rethink the position they have taken in the UNSC 1267 Committee", emphasized Swaraj. (The United Nations Security Council resolution 1267, adopted in October 1999, designates individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden or the Taliban wherever located as terrorists.)

"We need to give up the tendency to differentiate 'my terrorists' and 'your terrorists', the Indian diplomat said. At the RIC meeting I put forward these views quite frankly before my two counterparts from Russia and China," she added.

Previously India has said it is disappointed that a "technical hold" has been put by China on Indian application to include Pathankot terror attack initiator Masood Azhar in the UN sanctions list. China responded by saying India should consult with Pakistan.

"I think India needs to separate the issue of the listing of the terrorist from the issue of condemning Pakistan," Defence Expert Samir Saran commented the situation to The New India Express on Monday. Samir Saran is a Senior Fellow and Vice President at the Observer Research Foundation.

India should have a “heart-to- heart” dialogue with China to win its support at the United Nations to ban Masood Azhar, former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid has said.

“You cannot expect China to deliver unless we talk to them. This is not carrying a shopping list,” Khurshid previously told Press Trust of India (PTI) during

China-India Corporate Dialogue held April 11 in Changcha.

“If we have to make friends and we cannot be selfish in your demeanour and we have to be accommodative and willing,” he added. “I am sure China will respond and support. You need to have heart-to-heart conversation,” concluded Khurshid.

To recall, both China and Russia are among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. India has managed to secure greater support from Beijing and Moscow for its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Moving on a different subject, in reply to a question from Press Trust of India (PTI) on Chinese-Indian relations, Wang Yi responded that the difficult border issues would also ultimately be resolved.

"At the moment, the boundary negotiation is in the process of building up small positive developments. It is like climbing a mountain. The going is tough and that is only because we are on the way up. This is all the more reason that we should do more to strengthen China-India cooperation, so that we can enable and facilitate the settlement of the boundary question."

RIC will continue to carry out strategic coordination and cooperation to maintain international peace and security, continued Wang Yi. "We will start strategic cooperation on the development of Russia's Far Eastern region," working together in the fields of oil and gas and nuclear, and on high-speed rail.

The strategic partnership between Russia, India and China has a stabilising effect on the Eurasia area, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow on Monday, according to TASS.

The talks will continue as 26 members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and 12 observers will meet in Beijing on April 27-28 to discuss the cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. China’s MFA expressed a desire to see Sergey Lavrov as a head of a Russian delegation in Beijing.

Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi plan to address the question of the UN sanctions list in Beijing on April 21.

There is no peace until LAC is revert back and south Tibet is part of China again. No love until those things happen

 

[TaiShang]

There is no peace until LAC is revert back and south Tibet is part of China again. No love until those things happen

That's for sure since sovereignty claims cannot be negotiated.

It seems, China is simply exploring ways to improve relations within the meaningful limits of the existing disagreements.

I definitely does not mean reverting back on historical titles.

 

[TaiShang]

Huge Room for China-Russia Cooperation in Space
2016-04-22

China and Russia have good mechanism for cooperation in space and aerospace, and the room for cooperation is "huge", according to the head of China's space administration.

China and Russia have an outline for cooperation in this sector and cooperative projects have been conducted smoothly, Xu Dazhe, director of China National Space Administration, said at a press conference on Friday in response to a question on this topic.

Xu said the two countries are recently cooperating on issues such as astronautic dynamics and spaceflight electronic components.

China and Russia are working together to explore the universe and hopefully the two countries will improve aerospace technology and make better use of resources, Xu said.

Also, Xu said China's efforts in developing aerospace sector have always been open and transparent.

Citing plots in Hollywood blockbuster "The Martian", Xu said it may indicate that scientists in the United States are willing to cooperate with Chinese counterparts on relevant fields.

The official said that despite some "well-known" reasons that hold back such cooperation, a dialogue mechanism has been established between China and the United States and communications will be carried on via this channel.

The official stressed that China follows the civilian-military integration strategy in the aerospace sector, and that it is natural for China to use space resources for national defense and world peace purposes.

The press conference was held ahead of the China's first Space Day on April 24 to mark the launch of the country's first satellite 46 years ago.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Would be great to see Joint Russian - Chinese space mission to Mars

 

[C130]

meh government run Space Programs are so 20th century. It's the era of private companies like SpaceX


though It would be interesting to see what comes of this joint rockets? joint space station? joint exploration? joint satellites? etc etc

 

[TaiShang]

For the Long Haul: Moscow-Beijing Ties Move to a 'Higher Level'
"Russian-Chinese relations are able to resist any international crises"

(Sputnik)
Wed, Apr 20, 2016


Originally appeared at Sputnik

In his article published by the US magazine National Interest, Lyle J. Goldstein, Associate Professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute at the Newport-based Naval War College, pointed to more efforts by Russia and China to move bilateral military collaboration to a "higher level."

According to him, "the rapidly changing balance of power in the western Pacific, not to mention thirty-plus years of stable relations," clearly counters critics' arguments about what they described as a yet-to-be-developed strategic coordination between Russia and China.

"Since the early 1990s, Beijing's resources helped Russia's arms manufacturers to survive during the lean years, while Moscow has enabled China's remarkable leap into advanced weaponry," Goldstein said.

In this regard, he referred to the Chinese J-11, J-15, and J-16 fighter jets, which he recalled "are all potent modifications of the successful Russian design" of the fourth generation multi-role fighter Su-27.

He also mentioned the YJ-12 and YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship missiles which he described as "Chinese spinoffs from Russia's recognized missile prowess."

Russian-Chinese naval drills during 2014 and 2015 signaled "a more ambitious program of military collaboration which now seems to be in the works," according to Goldstein.

He recalled that the drills which took place in the Sea of Japan in August 2015 was the largest ever Chinese-Russian joint naval exercise, which notably saw "the inclusion of numerous Chinese jets that flew into Russia from China, both J-10s and J-7s, and even a PLA Air Force KJ-200 early-warning/ battle-management aircraft."

"Deploying this uniquely valuable platform to this exercise does indeed convey the notion that China and Russia are now seeking to move the military partnership to a higher level," Goldstein pointed out.

Shortly after the end of the drills, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, for his part, said that military cooperation between Russia and China forms the basis of a strategic union between the two nations and this partnership is having a stabilizing effect on the international situation.

Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Russian-Chinese relations are able to resist any international crises, and that temporary factors cannot prevent the two countries from enhancing their cooperation. He touted the relations between Moscow and Beijing as "mature and stable."

 

[qwerrty]

they should jointly make big nuclear rocket engine for manned mars and beyond. everything else, china is pretty self-sufficient

 

[Bussard Ramjet]

they should jointly make big nuclear rocket engine for manned mars and beyond. everything else, china is pretty self-sufficient

Just so that you know, you can theoretically not use nuclear power for propulsion in space. Nuclear power produces a lot of energy, but relatively little momentum, and that too is in high entropy. You can sure make air breathing nuclear engines, where energy heat up air, and uses it as a propellant, but in space and high atmosphere, you can't use nuclear energy for propulsion. (Although, it is true that most of the energy for space trips is required in entering and exiting the atmosphere)

 

[qwerrty]

Just so that you know, you can theoretically not use nuclear power for propulsion in space. Nuclear power produces a lot of energy, but relatively little momentum, and that too is in high entropy. You can sure make air breathing nuclear engines, where energy heat up air, and uses it as a propellant, but in space and high atmosphere, you can't use nuclear energy for propulsion. (Although, it is true that most of the energy for space trips is required in entering and exiting the atmosphere)

the idea is to use it to power electric engine like the impulse drive in star trek enterprise when they don't want to travel light speed. lol. it's not impossible. vasimr engine in development at ad astra rocket company is very similar to that concept

 

[Bussard Ramjet]

the idea is to use it to power electric engine like the impulse drive in star trek enterprise when they don't want to travel light speed. lol. it's not impossible. vasimr engine in development at ad astra rocket company is very similar to that concept

Again, the diagrams you showed, still use some propulsion material. Here they are using plasma. It will be more efficient than normal fuels, because every metal ion can be used equally for the propulsion, but there has to be something. You can't use simply energy for propulsion, for the only non mass things that you can eject will have disproportionately small momentum. You will require ejection of mass.

 

[qwerrty]

Again, the diagrams you showed, still use some propulsion material. Here they are using plasma. It will be more efficient than normal fuels, because every metal ion can be used equally for the propulsion, but there has to be something. You can't use simply energy for propulsion, for the only non mass things that you can eject will have disproportionately small momentum. You will require ejection of mass.

of course it won't be efficient on its own alone. the idea is to use it to help accelerate plasma and make your ship goes much much faster than the current ion thruster or similar that we have today that rely on crappy solar power

 

[Beidou2020]

Would be great to see Joint Russian - Chinese space mission to Mars

No.

Tried that in 2011 and Russian rocket failed.

I want things like manned, moon and mars missions to be done independently by China to improve the technological capabilities of the nation.

Getting someone else to do it is useless, brings no prestige whatsoever.