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Surveying a seriously troubled world security landscape
The world is now grappling with a number of unresolved conflicts not only with certain rogue nations, but with murderous terrorist groups as well.
The recent annual assessment of The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is not very encouraging. General Director John Chipman firmly stated: "Many parts of the world are engaged in brutal combat . . . Overall the dangerous triptych of Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran continues to dominate the security agenda as do the wider, iconic problems of terrorism and [nuclear] proliferation" (The Guardian, May 25, emphasis added throughout).
The Middle East, where we see a resurging Taliban problem in Afghanistan, continued crippling loss of life by insurgencies in Iraq, and a stubborn Iran seemingly determined to acquire nuclear weapons in violation of the nonproliferation treaty it has signed, dominates world security concerns. But in fact the global security landscape threatens to boil over in the year ahead when crucial tipping points could come together resulting in several simultaneous crises around the world.
Among them are China's continued military expansion and aggressive hunt for oil, the undisguised nuclear ambitions of North Korea, the explosive Palestinian problem and increasing violence in Southern Asia and parts of Africa such as the Sudan.
Apparently China wants to build a navy that will challenge America in the Pacific. The Chinese military buildup has become obvious, including an additional deployment of 300 J-10 fighter jets. China has also expressed great interest in buying land-attack cruise missiles from Russia.
Realistic assessments of China's military budget show that defense outlays now approach 3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. IISS leader John Chipman stated, "[Military] expenditure is on a sharp upward trend and will remain so in view of popular and elite support for accelerated defense modernisation and because of China's increasing capacity to sustain spending at a high level without noticeably undermining other developmental goals."
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