Russian nuclear horn ready to expand (Dan 7)

 Russian Foreign Ministry Official Warns of Threat of Nuclear Expansion
By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber May. 17 2015 20:37 Last edited 20:38

A Russian Foreign Ministry official has said that the country may be compelled to increase its nuclear capacities in response the United States’ alleged attempts to undermine international disarmament efforts, the RIA Novosti state news agency reported Sunday.

“Negative trends that undermine strategic stability and the prospects of nuclear disarmament are taking hold in the world,” Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Foreign Ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms control, was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying. “These negative factors do not come from us. They come from the United States.”

Ulyanov cited the United States’ missile defense program Prompt Global Strike, its reluctance to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and a “serious imbalance” of conventional weapons in Europe as factors that could compel Russia to increase its nuclear potential, but added that this was not the case for the time being.

Last week, NATO military commander Philip Breedlove accused Russia of making irresponsible nuclear threats, media reported at the time.

President Vladimir Putin said in March that Russia had been prepared to put its nuclear forces on alert to ensure the annexation of Crimea. A Foreign Ministry official also said that month that the country had the right to deploy its nuclear arsenal to Crimea, although he was not aware of any plans to do so.

Meanwhile, in another iteration of heightened military rhetoric, Alexander Grushko, Russia’s envoy to NATO, said last week that Russia was prepared to bolster its military presence in Crimea to counter the organization’s increased activities in eastern Europe, RIA Novosti reported.

Poland and the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — said last week that they were seeking the establishment of permanent NATO deployments on their territories to deter Russian military activity.

These NATO states have repeatedly accused Russian fighter jets and military ships of lingering at their borders. Earlier this month, Latvia’s military claimed that two Russian naval ships, a military transportation aircraft and a submarine were lurking on the edge of the country’s territorial waters. Lithuania has also complained of Russian naval activity in its exclusive economic zone.

Contact the author at g.tetraultfarber@imedia.ru 

The South Korean Nuclear Horn (Dan 7:7)

 

Canada eyes more nuclear cooperation with S.Korea: minister

Published : 2015-05-03 09:46
Updated : 2015-05-03 09:48

Canada wants to step up cooperation with South Korea in the nuclear energy industry as a bilateral free trade deal and Seoul’s revised nuclear agreement with the United States provide more room for advanced projects, a senior Canadian official said Sunday.

Reza Moridi, head of Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation, said South Korea has made “landmark technological achievements” since importing four Candu reactors from Canada four decades ago and is getting ready to team up with Canadian partners to tap into the global market.
“Korea has played a strong role in the development of nuclear science and technology. I am encouraging Korea and the Ontario Candu energy sector to work together in terms of new reactors and services, as well as various other nuclear technologies in the world,” Moridi said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

Moridi was in Seoul to attend the Korea Atomic Power Annual Conference and to meet with Korean government and company officials to discuss ways to forge closer ties with the energy sector in his jurisdiction.

South Korea has 23 nuclear reactors in operation, from which it currently gets about 30 percent of its electricity supply, and plans to build 11 more by 2024.

Among them, four are Candu 6 units imported from Canada, which are pressurized heavy water reactors used for generating electric power. The four are located in Wolsong, a major nuclear hub located on the southeastern coast.

South Korea is the largest operator of Candu plants outside its home and “among the top performers in the world,” he said.

Moridi expressed hope that the bilateral free trade deal, which took effect in January, will boost economic ties in the nuclear and renewable energy sector, noting nuclear reactor technology and uranium were among the top 10 goods Ontario exported to South Korea last year.

The recently revised 1974 nuclear energy cooperation pact with the United States that now allows South Korea to reprocess spent fuel and enrich uranium will provide more opportunities for Canada’s nuclear industry to work with Korean partners to develop spent fuel technology, the reutilization process and future nuclear energy systems.

“Korea would be an ideal market in which to use recycled uranium in its Candu fleet, thereby opening new opportunities for cooperation,” he said. “We look forward to the opportunity to discuss mutual priorities and share best practices for our nuclear sectors.”

Although there are lingering safety concerns in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011, the Canadian official said nuclear energy is still a safer and more environment-friendly option compared with traditional power plants, noting it is important to raise public awareness of the benefits of nuclear energy.

“Nuclear reactors and power stations are heavily regulated in such countries as Korea, the United States and Canada. In that sense, it’s very safe,” he said. “There’s no risk-free activity, but when you compare all these things, nuclear energy is a good way to produce electricity.” (Yonhap)

Russian Nuclear Horn Gets Bolder (Dan 7)

 

Two Russian Nuclear Bombers Fly Into Alaskan Airspace

Two nuclear-capable Russian bombers entered U.S. airspace for the first time this year in the Alaska air defense zone. Despite the intrusion, no U.S. jets were sent to intercept or shadow the incoming bombers.

The Washington Post reports that the two Russian bombers flew into the U.S. airspace last week. However, they noted that no U.S. jets were sent to shadow the planes like in previous encounters. Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), is remaining mum on the incident but notes that no planes were dispatched last week to the area in question.

As Fox News points out, the incident marks the first Russian incursion on U.S. airspace this year. However, last year Russian bombers were intercepted at least six times with long-range aircraft detected by NORAD on at least 10 other occasions. It is noted that this is probably the first of many Russian bombers that will be seen in U.S. airspace this year. Russia has been frequenting the area as part of a new training and influence operation.

Senior military officials have noted the increased presence of Russian aircraft in U.S. airspace in addition to the incursions on Canadian and EU airspace. Northern Command commander Adm. William Gortney has spoken on the Russian issue and says that the country is developing a very capable military program, noting that both flight missions and numbers of locations for the flights “have gone up” and that the military is getting stronger in the region.

Aside from interactions with the U.S., Russia is also making threatening gestures in the European Union with a number of fighter jets being intercepted. However, Russia isn’t only making a stance in the air, Sweden recently detected a Russian submarine in Swedish waters that caused a stir across the country.

With campaigns aimed at flexing military muscle, the U.S. and other countries in the cross-hairs with Russia can expect to see more Russian military training exercises near their coasts or airspace.

This is the first time that the U.S. has not sent a jet to intercept the Russian bombers. The latest bomber mission identified near Alaska last year was described as provocative and dangerous by the Pentagon. Therefore, a US RC-135 intercepted the bomber and shadowed it back to Russian airspace.

What do you think the U.S. should do about the breech of airspace by the nuclear-capable Russian bombers? Should NORAD have dispatched U.S. jets to shadow or intercept the bombers, or did they do the right thing by ignoring the symbolic threat?

The Russian Nuclear Horn Expands (Dan 7:7)

Russia building nuclear reactors – and influence – around the globe

By Hannah Thoburn

April 29, 2015

Russia has been notoriously brazen in using state-owned companies as instruments of national power. President Vladimir Putin’s natural-gas wars with Belarus and Ukraine made headlines and sometimes left substantial parts of Europe in the cold. But Moscow’s exploits in other energy-related areas have been less noticed.

Recent revelations about the concerted Russian effort to buy up uranium resources across the globe may change that. For Moscow’s state-owned nuclear-energy company, Rosatom, has made successful inroads into markets around the world. It is Rosatom — not France’s Areva or the United States’ Westinghouse — that has 29 nuclear reactors in various stages of planning and construction in more than a dozen countries, the largest number of nuclear reactors being built internationally. In contrast, Areva, though largely owned by the French state, has not sold one reactor since 2007.

Much of Rosatom’s success can be ascribed to the strong support provided by the Russian government. Moscow recognized roughly 10 to 15 years ago that Rosatom’s work enables Russia to add another energy-related means of extending its long-term political influence throughout the world. Unlike oil or gas projects, Russia’s nuclear developments need not be in neighboring countries or even in its region — a fact that broadens the Kremlin’s investment options.

Globe-trotting deals

The countries that Russia and its state-owned nuclear company have signed agreements with in the past year are diverse indeed. The most recent deal is with Jordan, a land-locked, energy-poor Middle Eastern nation, which just agreed to have Rosatom complete two nuclear reactors by 2022.


Less than a month before the Jordanian agreement, Putin finalized a deal with Hungary for Rosatom to build and install two reactors to the already existing Soviet-built plant at Paks in south-central Hungary. The deal has come under intense scrutiny from the European Union over the source of the nuclear fuel, but looks set to go ahead.

Only days before the Hungary deal, Putin used his visit to Egypt to conclude a preliminary agreement with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Moscow is set to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, in the northern city of Alexandria.

In November, Russia signed a contract with Iran to build two more reactors at the Bushehr site, where Russia has already built one reactor that is now operational. The deal left open the possibility of Rosatom building an additional four reactors at a site yet to be determined.

India has long had a relationship with Rosatom, as New Delhi has worked desperately over the past years to increase its electricity production capacity. A Russian-built reactor came online at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in 2013, a project conceived under the Soviet regime. Another reactor is to begin operation at Kudankulam later this year. Two more nuclear reactors are planned for construction at the same site. When Putin visited India in December 2014, the two governments confirmed that their cooperation in the nuclear sector would continue, with at least 10 more reactors planned in the coming years.

In northern Finland, Rosatom has started preliminary work on a site where a new nuclear plant is scheduled to come online in 2024. Turkey’s first nuclear plant, also built by Rosatom, is set to break ground this spring.



Rosatom is also looking toward Latin America. While Putin was touring South America in July 2014, the Russian leader and Argentine President Cristina Kirchner signed nuclear energy cooperation agreements and in April 2015 agreed to have Rosatom build a reactor at the Atucha-3 plant outside Buenos Aires. In February 2015, Rosatom concluded an agreement with Brazil’s National Nuclear Energy Commission to provide supplies of Molybdenium-99, an element used in many nonmilitary nuclear applications.

Crucial Moscow support

So why, tender after tender, are Russia and Rosatom having more success than Western nuclear firms? There are four key reasons:

Favorable financing. Though Russia may be hurting for cash because of international sanctions, Moscow is still willing to undertake projects that promise long-term gains. The returns are expected to be more than financial. The Putin regime sees these projects as part of its national strategy. It is willing to heavily subsidize Rosatom and also provide loans to countries too poor to afford its products. These subsidies mean that Rosatom can sell nuclear reactors at a far lower price than its competitors.

Rosatom’s Build, Own and Operate scheme. Many developing countries are keen to develop nuclear power as a source of comparatively cheap energy but are unable to raise the funds to build reactors. In addition, they have neither the desire nor the expertise to operate the reactors once they are built. The build, own and operate deals remove these obstacles and put the responsibility on the Russians. But they also hold the countries hostage to Russian desires and demands. Under these controversial deals, Russia and Rosatom provide nuclear fuel, processing when it has been depleted, education for workers and technicians, maintenance and installation of any needed upgrades. Turkey’s new plant at Akkuyu is the first set to be built under these conditions.




Rosatom’s relative freedom from governmental oversight. In comparison to the world’s other large companies engaged in nuclear construction, Areva of France, Westinghouse of the United States and TEPCO of Japan, Rosatom is not dissuaded from building in certain countries. In contrast, U.S. companies are prevented from building reactors in all but the 46 countries with which the United States has already concluded so-called 123 Agreements on the sharing of nuclear expertise. Countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, where Rosatom is building reactors, are not on that list, effectively keeping U.S. companies from even competing for those deals.

Deal sweeteners. In certain circumstances, a nuclear deal with Russia is only part of a larger package. Vietnam’s collaboration with Russia, for example, has also allowed it to purchase submarines and other military equipment from Moscow.

West versus Rosatom

For all these reasons, competing against Russia and Rosatom has become increasingly difficult for Western corporations, which are steadily falling behind.

France’s Areva, for example, is in serious financial straits and must address recent revelations of technological problems with one of its reactor designs. Westinghouse is hamstrung by Americans’ reluctance to build new reactors. Foreign buyers often want to see how the reactor models they decide to build are running in a company’s base, and Westinghouse has nothing to show them. Japanese companies have been adversely affected by the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant.
Meanwhile, Rosatom, backed by the full power of the Putin government, is expanding its international reach and, in doing so, widening the scope of Russian power. As it has begun to do in other arenas — media and finance, for example — Europe and the United States must identify and counter Russian influence in the energy sphere.

Sooner or later, Washington’s and Brussels’ instinct to ignore these challenges will not only seriously undermine Western businesses, it will also cede to Russia the international influence it so ardently seeks to purchase.

India Should Worry About The Neighboring Nuclear Horns

India Expresses Concern Over Pakistan-China Nuke Deal

Published: Dec 19, 2014 at 1:29 pm
InSerbia News

 

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has expressed serious concern over the nuclear deal between neighbouring Pakistan and China, saying that New Delhi will discuss the issue with Beijing.

At the same time, she said that India is “fully prepared” to safeguard national interests. “India is well prepared to deal with threats. We are fully alert. We will not allow any harm to (happen to) India,” she also said while speaking at the Lok Sabha – the Lower House of the Indian Parliament recently.

Swaraj once again assured the members of the House that the Narendra Modi government would take all the necessary steps to protect national interests. “The government remains concerned about the impact of the deal on global non-proliferation norms. It believes that countries should abide by the commitments that they have undertaken in the field of nuclear non-proliferation,” stressed the minister.

 

According to Swaraj, India is well aware of the agreement signed by Islamabad and Beijing on the basis of which China will supply two additional nuclear power reactors – Chashma-3 and Chashma-4 – to Pakistan. Although Chashma-3 and Chashma-4 reactors are under construction, Chashma-1 and 2 reactors are currently in operation.

 

A couple of months ago, the Chinese officials had informed New Delhi that its nuclear supplies to Pakistan were in accordance with its international obligations and for peaceful purposes. Swaraj added that China, as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), should not forget its responsibility to ensure that necessary safeguards are in place before exporting nuclear technology to any countries.

 

Meanwhile, she admitted that India would not raise the issue in the UN because the China-Pakistan nuclear deal was yet to reach that level. Recently, Pakistan and China have described bilateral defence co-operation as an important component of strategic co-operation between them. For long, Beijing has been providing Pakistan with military assistance and equipment. Chinese officials visit Pakistan on a regular basis to conduct acceptance tests on the military equipment supplied by them and train Pakistani soldiers on the same. The two Asian neighbours also hold joint exercises between their Armies, Navies and Air Forces regularly.

The Chinese and Pakistani Nuclear Horns (Daniel 7:7/8:8)

Government concerned over China-Pakistan nuclear deal: Sushma Swaraj

Wednesday, 17 December 2014 – 5:20pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

Expressing concern over the nuclear deal between China and Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said the government has raised the issue with China and asserted that it is “well prepared” to safeguard national interests.

“India is well prepared (to deal with threats)… We are fully alert… We will not allow any harm to (happen to) India,” Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha. She asserted that the government remains committed to taking all necessary steps to safeguard India’s national security interests.
Her remarks came while replying to queries regarding steps taken by the government to safeguard the country’s interests against the backdrop of Pakistan entering into a nuclear deal with China. “Government remains concerned about the impact of the deal on global non-proliferation norms. Government believes that countries should abide by the commitments that they have undertaken in the field of nuclear non-proliferation,” she said.

During Question Hour, Swaraj said the government is aware of the agreement to supply two additional nuclear power reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4 by China to Pakistan. These reactors are under construction, in addition to Chashma-1 and 2, which are already in operation.
“Government is further aware of reports of an agreement for supply of additional reactors of Chinese origin to be built at Chashma, Karachi and a third site in Pakistan,” she said. She noted that India keeps raising the issue with China. “Government has raised this issue in bilateral discussions with China. China maintains that its nuclear supplies to Pakistan are in accordance with its international obligations and are only for peaceful purposes,” she said.

China, being a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), has the responsibility to ensure that necessary safeguards are in place before exporting nuclear technology, Swaraj noted. To another query related to the China-Pakistan nuclear deal, Swaraj said the situation has not reached the level where it needs to be raised in the United Nations.

Russian Horn Aids Iranian Nuclear Horn

Russia to build two more nuclear reactors for Iran

Pakistan Times

20 HOURS AGO BY AGENCIES

Russia on Tuesday signed a deal with Iran to build two new nuclear reactors and agreed to expand the total number of Russian reactors in the country to eight, the state nuclear agency Rosatom said.

A series of agreements, signed during a visit to Moscow by Iran’s nuclear programme chief Ali Akbar Salehi, includes a contract for two new reactors at the existing Russia-built Bushehr plant.
The Bushehr Phase II consists of two reactors at the same Persian Gulf coast site as the existing 1,000 megawatt reactor Russia launched last year.

The countries also agreed to expand the total number of reactors in Bushehr to four, and construct “four similar power units on another site in Iran,” the location of which is yet to be provided by Tehran, Rosatom said in a statement.

The project “will be under the IAEA safeguards and fully meet the nuclear nonproliferation regime,” Rosatom said. Nuclear fuel will be produced in Russia and spent fuel returned to Russia.

However, the countries “plan to go into the issue of economic expediency and feasibility of fabricating fuel rod components in Iran, which will be used at these power units,” it said.

Iran plans to build 20 more nuclear plants in the future, including four in Bushehr, to decrease its dependence on oil and gas.