TNI Akan Bantu Evakuasi 19 WNI Di Libya

JAKARTA-(IDB) : Panglima TNI, Agus Suhartono mengatakan pihaknya akan membantu evakuasi 19 warga Negara Indonesia (WNI) yang masih berada di Libya, setelah negeri tersebut dilanda gejolak politik yang berkepanjangan.

"Kami sedang upayakan membantu evakuasi terhadap 19 WNI itu," ungkap Agus Suhartono di Markas Besar TNI, Cilangkap, Jakarta, Kamis (25/8) malam.

Panglima TNI menambahkan, saat pengamanan dan evakuasi WNI di Libya masih dilakukan oleh Satuan Tugas yang dibentuk Februari lalu.

Agus mengatakan ke-19 WNI yang sekarang terjebak di Libya sebenarnya pada Februari lalu sudah diajak untuk dievakuasi. Namun, saat itu mereka menolak dengan alasan kondisi keamanan masih belum membahayakan.

Keamanan dan evakuasi WNI di Libya, kata Panglima TNI, masih ditangani kementerian luar negeri.

Terkait dengan upaya evakuasi itu, Mabes TNI masih mengoordinasikannya dengan kementerian luar negeri dan Satuan Tugas pengamanan WNI di Libya.

Sementara itu, situasi di Libya kini dilaporkan semakin tak menentu, terutama setelah para pemberontak mulai menguasai ibu kota Tripoli. 

Sumber: Seruu

China Accuses US Of Exaggerating Military Threat

BEIJING-(IDB) : China's state news agency accused the United States Thursday of "exaggerating" the threat posed by its military, after a report said the Asian nation was expanding its maritime power.

The US defence department said in its annual report to Congress that China was increasingly focused on naval power and had invested in hi-tech weaponry that would extend its reach in the Pacific and beyond.

Xinhua said many people in China found it "weird" that the United States, which spends far more on its military than any other country in the world, should highlight Chinese expenditure.

"The report... exaggerated the threat incurred by China's military development in 2010 to the Asia-Pacific region," Xinhua said in a commentary.

"For many in China, it is weird that the Pentagon, whose expenditures reached nearly $700 billion and accounted for over an appalling 40 percent of the world's total in 2010, routinely points its finger at China."

China's People's Liberation Army -- the largest armed force in the world -- is extremely secretive about its defence programs, which benefit from a huge and expanding military budget boosted by the nation's runaway economic growth.

Beijing announced earlier this year that military spending would rise to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion) in 2011 and also said it was developing its first stealth fighter jet.

The weapons buildup comes as the Asian economic giant places a growing emphasis on securing strategic shipping lanes and mineral-rich areas in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims sovereign rights to almost all of the South China Sea, although several Southeast Asian countries have competing claims.

Tensions flared this year after the Philippines and Vietnam accused China of becoming increasingly aggressive.

The Pentagon report, released on Wednesday, also renewed US warnings that China was extending its military edge over Taiwan, citing better artillery that could strike targets within or even across the Taiwan Strait.

China considers Taiwan, where the mainland's defeated nationalists fled in 1949, to be a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, and Xinhua said the report amounted to "interfering".

"The 94-page report, as usual, interferes with the internal issue of China by making wilful comments on the situation across Taiwan Straits," it said.

Xinhua also accused the Pentagon of "overlooking the country's peaceful defence policy" in its report.

"The Pentagon report, submitted to the Congress by the Pentagon annually pursuant to a US law since 2000, has drawn protest from China over its interfering nature, distortion of facts and baseless speculations," it said.

The dispute over Taiwan, including US arms sales to Taipei, has remained a stumbling block to Washington's attempts at promoting a security dialogue with the Chinese military.

However, Xinhua said relations between the US and Chinese militaries had improved over the past year.

It cited a visit to China last month by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, America's top military official. Mullen's Chinese counterpart Chen Bingde visited the United States in May.

Source: Defencetalk

Smart Bases, Electric Vehicles Key Energy Independence Components

DT-(IDB) : The Air Force and other Department of Defense agencies are aggressively pursuing plug-in electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid infrastructure technologies, DOD leaders told industry representatives at an Electric Vehicle Industry Day here Aug. 23.

"We are here to tell you three things," said Terry A. Yonkers, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics. "We are serious about this; we are going to be the catalyst for the executive branch; and it is time to stop talking and get down to doing it."

PEVs and vehicle-to-grid technology allow installations that generate power from alternative sources to use the power to charge electric vehicles and also use these same vehicles as storage devices. The vehicles reduce reliance on fossil fuels and store power for use either at peak loads (when connected to the grid) or as stand-alone sources of power if the commercial grid fails.

The PEV and vehicle-to-grid technology is two-way. The grid both charges the vehicles and draws from them when called on when not in use.

Within weeks, the Air Force is scheduled to announce the selection of a base where these technologies will be installed and evaluated for wider application.

"Our first concern is making sure (the installation) gets the right vehicles for the jobs they need to do," said Dr. Kevin Geiss, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics.

"We have a global mission, and it's often the work that gets done at installations that allows us to fulfill this mission," Geiss said. "The (vehicle) fleet supports Airmen doing this work at the installations. They must have the right tools."

Geiss said much of the test base analysis will focus on how PEVs and vehicle-to-grid technology tie in to installation master plans.

"An installation is a system; we need to look at additional capabilities these vehicles can bring," he said.

Installations could theoretically be self-supporting and also generate income through providing power to the commercial grid.

The industry day was an opportunity for DOD leaders to outline for industry representatives why PEV and vehicle-to-grid technologies are being pursued with such vigor, the basic cost parameters and the desired outcomes.

Source: Defencetalk