タグ: “international cooperation”

Chinese Navy Poses Real Threat To Somali Pirates

Since 2008 China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) under United Nations authorization has conducted anti-piracy and protection operations in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.

To date, the PLAN has sent 14 naval detachments to the area, has escorted 5,000 ships, conducted rescue operations on two Chinese ships that had been boarded by pirates and came to the aid of 22 ships being actively pursued by pirates.

The PLAN conducts exchanges and cooperation with other escort forces to protect international sea lanes. Since 2012, China, Japan, India and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have strengthened their convoy coordination to provide smooth scheduling and comprehensive coverage of the sea lanes in question.

According to the white paper on defense issued by the Information Office Of The State Council in April 2013, Chinese ships have carried out anti-piracy drills with naval forces of the ROK, Pakistan and the United States of America. In addition the PLAN has also done joint safeguarding with Russian naval forces. China takes part in conferences of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) and also participates in the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) meetings on merchant shipping.

In the white paper mentioned above, the Chinese government clearly lays out its policy and rationale for participation in missions such as the Somalia anti-piracy efforts:

V. Safeguarding World Peace and Regional Stability

China’s security and development are closely connected with the peace and prosperity of the world as a whole. China’s armed forces have always been a staunch force upholding world peace and regional stability, and will continue to increase cooperation and mutual trust with the armed forces of other countries, participate in regional and international security affairs, and play an active role in international political and security fields.

 (“The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces”  Issued by the Information Office of the State Council, The People’s Republic of China in Beijing, April 2013)     (DP)

 Full text of this white paper: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-04/16/c_132312681.htm

Photo: CCTV

(DP)

Dunhuang Project Puts Spotlingt On Teamwork.

                                                                            Dunhuang.jpg

                           (Photo: Friends of Dunhuang)

                              by David Parmer

While the media spotlight in Asia focuses on territorial issues and frictions, scholars, historians and preservationists from seven countries are working through the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) cooperate to digitize some of the planet’s most valuable artifacts.

The National Library of China and seven major libraries and research institutions worldwide are cooperating to digitize and share some of the world’s most important cultural data. These countries include China, Britain, Russia Korea, Japan, Germany and France. The data in question is a massive digital representation of the artifacts found in the Mogao caves located 25 km southwest of Dunhuang, China.

Dunhuang, in western China’s Gansu Province, is at the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road. The Dunhuang area, which was declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, is home to a system of 492 temples and an amazing 735 Buddhist caves. At the end of the Qing dynasty a treasure trove of ancient scrolls and manuscripts, including one of the oldest known copies of the Diamond Sutra were found.

Materials dating from 100 BC to 1200 AD were removed and dispersed worldwide and now reside in museums in Beijing, St. Petersburg, London, Berlin and Beijing. These materials include scrolls paintings, murals, artifacts, coins and manuscripts in over twenty different languages and scripts. While many are strictly Buddhist in nature others are secular and deal with everyday administrative matters.

Now the IDP is collaborating to make these materials available online. To date, a staggering 400,000 images can now be viewed on the various member sites.
The IDP was formed in 1994 with it directorate at the British Library and has centers in China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Russian and France.
You can find this amazing story on the IDP website. (http://idp.bl.uk/idp.a4d). (DP)