88 Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification

(1) Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification
(2) Laser gun to be used against Somali pirates
(3) Japan Airlines close to bankruptcy; US airlines seek a stake
(4) Chinese Carmakers bid for Volvo, seek stake in Saab
(5) Canadian Firms seek to break Chinese monopoly on Rare-Earth Metals
(6) US company and China to build Solar Farm in Mongolian desert
(7) Wary India frisks North Korean freighter
(8) Japan's herbivores: Men who disdain Ratrace & Career, & don't chase Women
(9) US to build nuclear plants in India
(10) Japan's Weapons Industry

(1) Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification

From: ReporterNotebook <RePorterNoteBook@Gmail.com> Date: 14.09.2009 11:53 PM

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6829735.ece

September 11, 2009

Margaret Thatcher with President Gorbachev at the Kremlin. She insisted that the West would not do anything to put at risk the stability of the Soviet Union

Michael Binyon

Two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Margaret Thatcher told President Gorbachev that neither Britain nor Western Europe wanted the reunification of Germany and made clear that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it.

In an extraordinary frank meeting with Mr Gorbachev in Moscow in 1989 — never before fully reported — Mrs Thatcher said the destabilisation of Eastern Europe and the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact were also not in the West’s interests. She noted the huge changes happening across Eastern Europe, but she insisted that the West would not push for its decommunisation. Nor would it do anything to risk the security of the Soviet Union.

Even 20 years later, her remarks are likely to cause uproar. They are all the more explosive as she admitted that what she said was quite different from the West’s public pronouncements and official Nato communiqués. She told Mr Gorbachev that he should pay no attention to these.

“We do not want a united Germany,” she said. “This would lead to a change to postwar borders, and we cannot allow that because such a development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security.”

Her hardline views emerge from a remarkable cache of official Kremlin records smuggled out of Moscow. After Mr Gorbachev left office in 1991, copies of the state archives went to his personal foundation in Moscow. A few years ago Pavel Stroilov, a young writer doing research at the foundation, understood the huge historical significance of what they recorded. He copied more than 1,000 transcripts of all the Politburo discussions and brought them with him when he moved to London to continue his research.

His copies were made just in time, as all the transcripts of Politburo meetings and talks with foreign leaders have now been sealed. The records detail how the Russians reacted to the tumultuous events of 1989 and reveal the frantic attempts by Britain and France to halt moves to German unification by manoeuvring the Soviet Union into opposing it.

They also show the complete bemusement in the Kremlin in the face of riots across Eastern Europe and the flight of thousands of East Germans to Hungary and Czechoslovakia. And they make vividly clear Mr Gorbachev’s hatred of the old East European Communist leaders — he referred once to East Germany’s Erich Honecker as an “arsehole”, and his naive belief that if they were removed from office, East Europeans would be grateful to the Russians for promoting perestroika.

Mrs Thatcher knew full well that her remarks would cause a row if revealed. She was already courting controversy — especially among Solidarity supporters in Poland and the West — by telling Mr Gorbachev that she was “deeply impressed” by the courage and patriotism of General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the Polish Communist leader. She noted, approvingly, that Mr Gorbachev had reacted “calmly” to the results of the Polish elections, in which the Communists were defeated for the first time in an open vote in Eastern Europe, and to the other changes in Eastern Europe.

“My understanding of your position is the following: you welcome each country developing in its own way, on condition that the Warsaw Pact remains in place. I understand this position perfectly.”

Then she launched her bombshell. She asked that her next remarks should not be recorded. Mr Gorbachev agreed — but the Kremlin transcript included them anyway, noting laconically: “The following part of the conversation is reproduced from memory.” She spoke of her deep “concern” at what was going on in East Germany. She said “big changes” could be afoot.

And this led to her fear that it would all eventually lead to German reunification — an official goal of Western policy for more than a generation.

She assured Mr Gorbachev that President Bush also wanted to do nothing that would be seen by the Russians as a threat to their security. The same assurance was later spelt out in person to Mr Gorbachev at the Soviet- American summit off Malta.

The Kremlin records are an extraordinary snapshot of the confusion that accompanied the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe. The Russians knew that East Germany was vital to their interests, but they could no longer afford to prop it up. And Mr Gorbachev was determined not to send in troops in yet another bloody Soviet crackdown.

Amazingly, the Russians even discussed pulling down the Berlin Wall themselves, as revealed in Kremlin notes of a Poliburo discussion on November 3, 1989 — six days before the wall was opened:

[Vladimir] Kryuchkov [head of the KGB]: Tomorrow 500,000 people will come out on the streets of Berlin and other cities . . .

Gorbachev: Are you hoping that Krenz [Honecker’s replacement as party boss] will stay? We won’t be able to explain it to our people if we lose the GDR. However, we won’t be able to keep it afloat without the FRG [West Germany].

[Eduard] Shevardnadze [Foreign Minister]: We’d better take down the wall ourselves.

Kryuchkov: It will be difficult for them if we take it down.

Gorbachev: They [East Germany] will be bought up whole . . . And when they reach world prices, living standards will fall immediately. The West doesn’t want German reunification but wants to use us to prevent it, to cause a clash between us and the FRG so as to rule out the possibility of a future “conspiracy” between the USSR and Germany.

Mrs Thatcher was not the only one worried by events in Germany. A month after the Berlin Wall came down, Jacques Attali, the personal adviser to President Mitterrand, met Vadim Zagladin, a senior Gorbachev aide, in Kiev.

Mr Attali said that Moscow’s refusal to intervene in East Germany had “puzzled the French leadership” and questioned whether “the USSR has made peace with the prospect of a united Germany and will not take any steps to prevent it. This has caused a fear approaching panic.”

He then stated bluntly, echoing Mrs Thatcher: “France by no means wants German reunification, although it realises that in the end it is inevitable.”

In April 1990, five months after the wall came down, Mr Attali said that the spectre of reunification was causing nightmares among France’s politicians. The documents quote him telling Mr Mitterrand that he would “fly off to live on Mars” if this happened.

Mr Gorbachev’s most difficult meetings were with the old guard in the Warsaw Pact. They were all deeply suspicion of his attempts to reform Communism. The fiercest opposition came from East Berlin.

Honecker was aged, unwell and unbending. The East German leadership feared that he was losing control and wanted to dump him. Mr Gorbachev insisted they had to sort things out themselves. Egon Krenz, Honecker’s deputy, thinking that he needed the Kremlin’s permission, had already suggested to Mr Gorbachev a coup. Three weeks later, Honecker was ousted.

Mr Gorbachev saw the chaos for himself when he went to East Berlin for the fortieth anniversary celebrations of East Germany. The entry for October 9 in the diary of Anatoli Chernayev, the Kremlin aide responsible for links with fellow Communist parties, records the tumultuous situation.

“As M.S. [Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev] and Honecker walked together, a continuous roar in the air: ‘Gorby! Gorby!’ emanated from the thousands of people. Nobody paid attention to Erich . . . There were around 20 various leaders in attendance (Zhivkov, Ceaucescu, Nicaraguan Ortega etc) but nobody gave them much heed. All festivities concentrated on Gorbachev’s presence in Berlin.

“On October 10, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany will have a plenum . . . They might overthrow Erich. Otherwise it will soon come to a storm on the wall.”

Mr Chernayev noted that “all of Europe” was raving about Mr Gorbachev in Berlin. “And everybody is whispering in our ear, ‘It is good that the USSR has delicately expressed its stance against German reunification’.”

Politicians who met Mr Gorbachev’s advisers around Europe “say in unison that nobody wants a unified Germany”. Astonishingly, he noted, in France Mr Mitterrand was even thinking of a military alliance with Russia to stop it, “camouflaged as a joint use of armies to fight natural disasters”.

Mr Chernayev recorded Mr Gorbachev’s loathing of Honecker. “M.S. called him an arsehole. He said, ‘He could have said to his people that he has had four operations, he is 78, he does not have the strength to fill his position, so could they please let him go as he has done his duty. Then, maybe, he would have remained an esteemed figure in history.’ ”

If he had left two or three years earlier, he would have had a place in history, Mr Gorbachev said. Instead, Honecker was “cursed by the people”.

After the wall fell, Mr Gorbachev’s relaxed attitude to reunification hardened. At his summit with Mr Bush, he insisted that this should happen only as part of a general rapprochement in Europe. He accused the West of trying to “impose” Western values on Eastern Europe.

He also launched a ferocious attack on Helmut Kohl,the German Chancellor, for hurrying along discussion of unification. The next day, in Moscow, he accused Mr Kohl of issuing an ultimatum, of pushing unification for electoral reasons and of betraying agreements already made with Moscow.

Even in 1990 Mrs Thatcher was still trying to slow things down. “I am convinced that reunification needs a long transition period,” she told Mr Gorbachev. “All Europe is watching this not without a degree of fear, remembering very well who started the two world wars.”

It took another year of tough negotiations involving both Germanies and the four victorious wartime allies before a deal was done on unification.

Translation of the documents and additional research by Sergei Cristo.

Steps to unity

June 12, 1987 President Reagan, in a speech in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, demands: “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

July 17, 1989 Border controls lifted between Hungary and Austria. GDR citizens flee to the West

October 7 During a visit to the GDR, Gorbachev urges reform

October 18 Erich Honecker, East Germany’s head of state, resigns. A new Government prepares a law to lift travel restrictions for East Germans going to the West

November 4 More than 500,000 people demonstrate in East Berlin, demanding reform

November 9 The Politburo announces that East Germans are allowed to move freely into West Germany. Tens of thousands flock to the Berlin Wall. Border guards with no clear orders stand aside and East Germans stream through

November 10 The Brandenburg Gate is opened

May 18, 1990 The two German states sign a treaty on monetary, economic and social union, which comes into force on July 1

October 3 East Germany joins the Federal Republic of Germany Source: German Embassy and Times database

(2) Laser gun to be used against Somali pirates

From: ummyakoub <ummyakoub@yahoo.com> Date: 11.09.2009 09:40 AM

A laser gun that can be used to dazzle pirates, leaving them incapacitated, is just one of the hi-tech sea security gadgets being unveiled at a defence exhibition in London.

08 Sep 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/somalia/6154348/Laser-gun-to-be-used-against-Somali-pirates.html

The device is powerful enough to incapacitate pirates up to 1,000 yards away, while leaving them physically unscathed.

The Laser Dazzle System has been created to help ship owners fend off thepirate gangs that have seized a number of vessels off the coast of East Africa.

Military boats have been armed with similar gadgets for years, but the defence manufacturer BAE Systems is now making them available for use on cruise ships and tankers.

Other anti-piracy tools being unveiled at the Defence Systems & Equipment International exhibition at the ExCeL centre in London's Docklands this week include a radar that can detect a dinghy from 15 miles away, and another device that can close down a vessel's engine remotely.

"We can put radar on the ships which looks over the horizon and can see a rubber boat. When it gets a bit nearer we can turn the engine off," Dick Olver, BAE Systems's chairman, told the Daily Express. ...

(3) Japan Airlines close to bankruptcy; US airlines seek a stake

As JAL Seeks to Survive, U.S. Rivals Vie for a Stake

By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: September 14, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/business/global/15air.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

TOKYO — A last-ditch attempt by the biggest airline in Japan to raise money and avoid bankruptcy has set the stage for a battle between two U.S. titans, Delta and American Airlines.

In events that would have been unimaginable a year ago, Japan Airlines, the country’s flagship carrier, said Monday that it was exploring “all options” to stay in business. Media outlets reported that JAL was in talks with Delta Air Lines and American over a possible cash infusion of several hundred million dollars. ...

A stake in Japan Airlines would bolster Delta’s global standing by giving it access to the Japanese carrier’s lucrative trans-Pacific and Asian routes, as well as to coveted berths at Tokyo’s busy international airport.

Delta, the world’s biggest airline by miles traveled by its passengers, already has a strong foothold in Asia through Northwest Airlines, which it acquired last year.

But a deal between Delta and JAL would hurt American, which lacks a hub in Asia and relies on a code-sharing agreement forged with Japan Airlines in 1998. Analysts expect American to call on other members of the Oneworld alliance to also take a stake in the Japanese airliner to keep it within their ranks.

Delta declined to comment on the matter, while an American spokesman said the airline was “discussing deepening our relationship with Japan Airlines,” while declining to comment further.

Both airlines are jockeying for position amid recent bilateral talks that could open up routes between the United States and Japan to greater competition. Current restrictions allow only two U.S. passenger airlines — Delta and United Airlines — to fly between the main airport serving Tokyo, Narita, and cities in the United States.

Delta could have a lot to lose if more U.S. airlines were allowed to fly to Narita, analysts say. A stake in JAL would better position Delta for continued dominance of trans-Pacific routes.

But an investment in a carrier on the brink of bankruptcy could also pose big risks. Delta, still integrating its $2.6 billion purchase of Northwest, lost $1.05 billion in the first six months of 2009. ...

Hurt by years of mismanagement, a falloff in air travel and the overall weakness of the Japanese economy, Japan Airlines reported a record quarterly loss of ¥99 billion, or $1 billion, in the three months ended June 30. It has already forecast a ¥63 billion loss for the fiscal year, which ends next March, and the airline has announced plans to reduce flights. Although it recently secured ¥100 billion in government-backed loans, analysts say the airline needs at least ¥250 billion to get through the year.

Japan Airlines is mired in negotiations with its eight unions over staff and pay cuts, holding back the company’s restructuring efforts. JAL’s holdings, which include a global hotel chain and credit card business, have also drained its resources. Meanwhile, the carrier is losing out to its rival, All Nippon Airways, on domestic routes.

The outgoing government in Japan, controlled by the Liberal Democratic Party, had sought desperately to prop up the ailing airline over the past decade. Some analysts said the landmark victory of the L.D.P.’s rival Democratic Party in elections last month may have put new pressure on Japan Airlines to find new investors. ...

(4) Chinese Carmakers bid for Volvo, seek stake in Saab

Chinese Carmakers Set Sights on Sweden

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/business/global/10saab.html

By REUTERS

Published: September 9, 2009

STOCKHOLM — Koenigsegg Group, the luxury Swedish carmaker, said Wednesday that it would sell a stake to the state-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Holding as part of the Swedish company’s purchase of General Motor’s Saab unit, in the latest push by a Chinese automaker expand outside its domestic base.

The agreement came just hours after another Chinese carmaker, Geely Automotive, said its parent company planned to bid for Volvo Cars, the Swedish brand that is being sold by Ford Motor.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding, or BAIC, will take a minority stake in Koenigsegg. “This is an important step on the road toward a new Saab,” said the Koenigsegg chief executive, Christian von Koenigsegg. “We have a well-prepared business plan, an important partnership and we are ready to proceed without state financing.”

Koenigsegg, backed by U.S. and Norwegian investors, struck a deal in June to buy the unprofitable Saab from G.M., but questions about financing had dogged the deal. The company said it could not disclose financial details of its deal with BAIC because of a confidentiality agreement.

A Saab spokesman, Eric Geers, said a sale to Koenigsegg was now certain by the end of October. “This naturally also offers fantastic opportunities for Saab in the Chinese market. It is clear that this will help Saab hugely,” he added.  ...

Reuters

(5) Canadian Firms seek to break Chinese monopoly on Rare-Earth Metals

Canadian Firms Step Up Search for Rare-Earth Metals

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/business/global/10mineral.html

By REUTERS

Published: September 9, 2009

BANGALORE — China may lose its near-monopoly on producing so-called rare-earth metals used in hybrid cars and computer hard disks as a host of smaller Canadian companies develop fresh sources of supply over the coming years.

The drive to open new mines comes as Beijing shows signs of tightening restrictions on exports of the metals. Their great magnetic capacity and resistance to high temperatures make the minerals essential components in a variety of technologies, including fuel-efficient cars and wind energy turbines.

Demand for rare-earth metals is likely to increase between 10 percent and 20 percent each year, analysts say, thanks to growing demand for elements like neodymium, which is used in making hybrid electric vehicles and generators for wind turbines.

But supplies are limited. China, which produces about 97 percent of world’s rare-earth metals, curbs exports through quotas and additional duties. In addition, rare-earth metals like neodymium, terbium, dysprosium and yttrium are difficult to mine and process.

Against that backdrop, a handful of Canadian miners are exploring for new supplies in South Africa, Brazil and the United States while pushing ahead with existing projects. Their success could ease fears that manufacturers may find themselves with few, if any, reliable sources of vital rare-earth metals. Such concerns have also raised the share prices of many of these speciality miners. ...

(6) US company and China to build Solar Farm in Mongolian desert

U.S. Company and China Plan Solar Project

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/business/energy-environment/09solar.html

By TODD WOODY

Published: September 8, 2009

Chinese government officials signed an agreement on Tuesday with First Solar, an American solar developer, for a 2,000-megawatt photovoltaic farm to be built in the Mongolian desert.

Associated Press via First Solar

Mike Ahearn, chief executive of First Solar, left, greets Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China. The memorandum of understanding between Chinese officials and First Solar would open a potentially vast solar market in China.

Set for completion in 2019, the First Solar project represents the world’s biggest photovoltaic power plant project to date, and is part of an 11,950-megawatt renewable-energy park planned for Ordos City in Inner Mongolia.

The memorandum of understanding between Chinese officials and First Solar, the world’s largest photovoltaic cell manufacturer, would open a potentially vast solar market in China and follows the Chinese government’s recent moves to accelerate development of renewable energy.

When completed, the Ordos solar farm would generate enough electricity to power about three million Chinese homes, according to First Solar.

First Solar, based in Tempe, Ariz., is also likely to build a factory in China to make thin-film solar panels, said Mike Ahearn, the company’s chief executive. “It is significant that a non-Chinese company can land something like this in China,” Mr. Ahearn said in an interview. ...

(7) Wary India frisks North Korean freighter

By Sreeram Chaulia

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KH21Df03.html

 Aug 21, 2009

After the international suspense thriller in June over the movements of the North Korean cargo ship Kang Nam I ended with the freighter beating a retreat and returning home, an equally intriguing case has emerged off the southern coast of India.

Another North Korean vessel, the Mu San, is currently in the custody of Indian authorities after it dropped anchor without permission at Hut Bay, the entry point to India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands on August 6.

If the case of Kang Nam I was curious, the Mu San has its own mysteries that are deepening by the day. When the ship first approached Andaman and Nicobar, India's coast guards sent an aircraft overhead to communicate, but the North Koreans refused to respond.

A Coast Guard ship then tailed it and found that the 39 North Korean sailors on board were unwilling to halt. On being approached, the Mu San attempted to escape and Indian authorities fired in the air. After a tense six-hour chase, the ship finally "obeyed" and was dragged to the nearby city of Port Blair for inspection.

According to the captured sailors, the ship was carrying 16,500 tons of sugar bound for Iraq - a fact confirmed by searching its contents. One theory being bandied about is that the craft decided to dock in India for purely commercial reasons after learning that New Delhi had just announced zero import duties on sugar, a commodity that has fallen short this year due to a failed crop.

Sugar as merchandise on the high seas is a seemingly innocuous mission, except that the ship's crew frequently changed their versions when interrogated.

The claim that they came to make a quick killing on eased tariffs did not dovetail with the other assertion of the ship's captain that they changed direction towards the Andaman Islands because of "mechanical failure". Moreover, the other stops the vessel made along the way were erratic and suspicious.

Indian officials have learned that the Mu San docked unscheduled in Singapore without following the routine passport stamping procedure. Investigators also say that the same ship had in the past "made several voyages between North Korea and China without maintaining proper records". ...

Sreeram Chaulia is associate professor of world politics at the Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India.

(8) Japan's herbivores: Men who disdain Ratrace & Career, & don't chase Women

Japan's new herbivores: Men who shun sex, careers

Updated: 2009-07-28 08:51

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-07/28/content_8480439.htm

TOKYO: Hotel worker Roshinante has no interest in actively pursuing women, is nonchalant about a career and finds cars a bore - and he is not alone in opting for a quiet, uncompetitive lifestyle.

Roshinante, 31, who prefers the anonymity of his online handle, is one of a growing group of men dubbed "herbivorous boys" by the media, who are rejecting traditional masculinity when it comes to romance, jobs and consumption in an apparent reaction to the tougher economy.

Forget being a workaholic, corporate salary-man. These men, raised as the economic bubble burst, are turning their backs on Japan's stereotypical male roles in what is seen as a symptom of growing disillusionment in their country's troubled economy.

"Since I was a child, I hated people telling me, 'Behave like a man'," said Roshinante, who runs a forum on the popular Japanese social network site Mixi for frank discussion about herbivores.

For decades, Japanese men were expected to work full-time after graduating from high school or college, marry and support their wife and children.

Roshinante, a university graduate, has no plans to follow that path.

"I don't think my parents' way of life is for me," he said in a telephone interview. "I still struggle between the traditional notion of how men should be and how I am."

Almost half of 1,000 men aged 20-34 surveyed by market research firm M1 F1 Soken identified themselves as "herbivorous," defined literally as grass-eating but in this context as not being interested in flesh or passive about pursuing women. ...

Reuters

(9) US to build nuclear plants in India

From: World View <ummyakoub@yahoo.com> Date: 23.07.2009 07:07 PM

The US agreed to build two nuclear power stations and supply sophisticated weaponry to India when Hillary Clinton visited New Delhi.

US to build nuclear plants in India
By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
20 Jul 2009

The agreement was announced after Mrs Clinton, the US secretary of state, met the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, in the Indian capital.

S.M. Krishna, India's external affairs minister, said India had agreed to buy US defence equipment under an arrangement which will allow Washington to monitor its "end-use" to prevent weapons technology being sold on to rogue regimes.

Mrs Clinton said the agreement "will pave the way for greater defence co-operation" between the two countries.

The agreement puts the United States ahead of its rivals as India prepares to spend billions on modernising its armed forces, including the purchase of 126 fighter aircraft.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing are expected to benefit from the defence deal while General Electric and Westinghouse are expected to win substantial contracts to build reactors for two new nuclear power plants.

India is desperate to increase its power generating capacity to fuel its growing economy. ...

(10) Japan's Weapons Industry

The potential consequences of Japan's resumption of arms exports.

by Gavan Gray

Global Research, July 13, 2009

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14340

Reforms being backed by the Japanese government are likely to see further easing of, if not an outright end to, Japan's stringent restrictions on military arms exports. That this may well be a necessity due to current trends toward joint development of weapons systems between nations and corporations, should in no way be taken to mean it will not have major consequences for Japan. ...

Worldwide military expenditure amounted to $1339 billion in 2007, a 45% increase since 1998, with Japan in 5th place, claiming 4% of the market and $4.8 billion in sales. The leading Japanese manufacturer was Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, ranked 22nd globally, followed by Mitsubishi Electric (64th), NEC (79th) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (85th). Unlike leading Western manufacturers, such as BAE Systems whose products are 95% defense related, arms represent only 2-10% of the larger Japanese firms output. The firms are in their entirety, however, as large as the top-ranking companies. NEC with 152,000 employees is just as large as Boeing, the leading international arms producer. As such they have access to all the political and media influence of major corporations. ...

Japanese components have also found themselves sold as part of weapons packages through dual-use clauses permiting export of goods with non-military applications. As such, Japanese chips and cameras have become components in missile guidance systems and armored vehicles, while military troops around the world can be seen riding Toyota, Suzuki and Mitsubishi vehicles. ...

Japan leads the US in several technical fields such as nanotechnology, where the government invests $800 million annually. The US Defense Technology Office foresees joint US-Japan research as making the best use of each nation's strong suits. For the US, this is their underlying weapons systems, munitions and aerospace capability, while Japan excels in the areas of miniaturization, robotics and digital optics. These various strengths are almost certain to come together in the future joint development of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs).

More than 50 nation's now use unmanned drones for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and the elimination of targets. Japan began its own UAV development program in 2005, with the goal of producing two prototypes by 2012, while Fuji Industries already produces a helicopter-based drone used for surveillance purposes. Another area in which Japan is ideally suited is Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs). Britain's Special Forces are currently field testing a 28-inch long MAV, called the WASP, in Afghanistan. The remote-controlled drone is used for reconnaissance but can be fitted with explosives giving it lethal potential. The US Air Force Research Laboratory has set a 2015 deadline for a second generation of MAVs the size of birds and, by 2030, hope to produce a third generation the size of insects.

Robots have also become a major new military research field. Today US forces in Iraq make use of some 12,000 robots that can be equipped with missiles, rockets and machine-guns. One of the latest models, the remote-controlled MAARS, comes with speakers to broadcast warnings and commands from its operator and, should they prove insufficient, is capable of deploying non-lethal stun rounds or a decidedly lethal medium machine gun. One Air Force Lieutenant General forecast that by 2030 tens of thousands of robots would be regularly employed in conflict zones, robots with two decades of evolution from today's clumsy models and with far different capabilities. The center for such development in Japan is the Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) which has stated its intention to focus on UAVs, MAVs, Robotics and Unmanned Underwater vehicles (UUVs) as significant areas of future research and development with a projected deadline for preliminary models of 2012-17. That Japan will soon enter into new areas of military development is clear but what costs might be involved is harder to predict.

Costs and Consequences

Development of high tech weapons systems was shown to have inherent dangers when North Korean defectors testified that smuggled Japanese technology has been an integral part of North Korea's ballistic missile program. Additionally, research in other areas, particularly nanotechnology, is currently moving faster than the ability of regulatory bodies to ascertain potential dangers. Beyond this is the moral issue of where such systems will be used. According to the Congressional research center, in 2005 the US provided more than $11 billion in sales to 25 countries with human rights problems, 10 of which were classified as undemocratic. ...