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Posts Tagged Strategic Forces

Military Profile:Lt-Gen Zubair Hayat appointed DG SPD

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Lt-Gen Zubair Hayat appointed DG SPD

ISLAMABAD: The Bahawalpur Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, has been appointed as Director-General of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), one of the most sensitive positions dealing with the country’s strategic programme and assets.

The much-awaited replacement of Lt Gen Khalid Kidwai, who got 12 extensions since his retirement from the army, came about within a month of the appointment of new Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rashad Mehmood.

Kidwai’s tenure as DG SPD was seen as a “never-ending” exercise with some people talking of his 13th extension as neither General Perviaz Musharraf nor General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had replaced him for a record period.

For all practical purposes, Hayat, currently serving as Bahawalpur Corps commander, has been appointed as SPD DG as both Army Chief General Sharif and Chairman JCSC General Rashad mutually agreed to bid goodbye to KK, who never allowed any one to poke nose in the sensitive area he was handling for so long.

For all practical purposes, the SPD DG comes under Chairman JCSC, but the posting of a serving 3-star General to that position is the domain of the Army Chief.

Lt Gen Hayat, who’s father Mohammad Hayat was also retired as Lieutenant General and his two brothers—Umer Hayat and Ahmed Hayat—are 2-star Generals, belongs to a soldiers’ family similar to Army Chief General Sharif.

Top military circles say that COAS General Sharif appointed one of the best brainy, brave and bold Generals to be in charge of the country’s strategic assets in the shape of Lt Gen Zubair Hayat.

Since Pakistan’s first series of nuclear tests in May 1998 during second tenure of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it is the first time that Pakistan will have a new SPD DG as Kidwai continued to survive as SPD DG during all this period for one or the other reason.

Some circles do not hesitate in saying that things would start taking new shape and progress with the arrival of new SPD DG Lt Gen Zubair Hayat, a dynamic personality to spearhead Pakistan’s strategic nuclear and missile programme.

Lt Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat commissioned in artillery regiment of Pakistan Army in early ‘80s’He has been chief of staff to a corps and is a graduate of Command and Staff College, Camberly UK and NDU Islamabad.

He commanded an infantry brigade, division in the past and now, he was Bahawalpur Corps commander before moving in as DG SPD.After the appointment of Bahawalpur Corps Commander Lt Gen Zubair Hayat as SPD DG, there are three top positions to be filled in either by promotion of senior most 2-Star Generals to 3-Star Generals or reshuffling in the Army.

Presently, the Army Chief would fill in the vacant positions of the Bahawalpur Corps commander, Inter-General Training and Evaluation (IGT and E) and Chief of Logistic Staff (CLS). The position of IGT and E has been lying vacant since elevation and appointment of General Raheel Sharif as Army Chief, while post of CLS has been lying vacant because of pre-mature retirement of Lt Gen Haroon Aslam on being superseded.

Lt-Gen Zubair Hayat appointed DG SPD 

 
 

 

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China is no threat to the U.S.: Major General Luo Yuan

The state of Sino-U.S. ties will be decided by the U.S., because China has always maintained a constructive attitude and is committed to preserving a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century, Major General Luo Yuan told China.org.cn on during the CPPCC session.

 

Major General Luo Yuan, deputy secretary general of the China Society of Military Science and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) [Zhang Ming’ai/China.org.cn]

China will not change its policy towards the U.S. as its national power grows, said Luo, who is deputy secretary general of the China Society of Military Science and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. China’s traditional culture and national character emphasize modesty and prudence, and China will neither seek hegemony, nor pose a threat to the United States, he added.

 

“We are very clear about our realities,” said Luo. “I have visited former revolutionary base areas in remote and border areas and found that people there are still living in poverty.” He said that as a visiting scholar abroad he saw quite clearly that China still lags far behind western countries. Those who see China as a threat to the United States and believe that China is competing for world leadership with the U.S. should go to western China and have a close look at how people live there, Luo said.

Well-informed Americans understand that China is not capable of posing a threat to the United States, Luo said. “Those who say China is a threat to the U.S. are just playing the ‘China card’ to achieve other goals, such as increased military spending, shifting the public’s attention from domestic issues and avoiding blame at home, or forming alliances with other counties.”

According to the Major General, there is no country in the world capable of constituting a military threat to the United States. “China has never sent surveillance aircraft and ships to the U.S. East Coast or West Coast, but the U.S. regularly carries out surveillance activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea.” Those who know China understand that China neither wants to nor has the power to pose a threat to the U.S., Luo added. “The China threat theory is utterly absurd.”

But Americans who know little about China see China as a monster because China is a socialist country led by a communist party, said Luo. They believe there is a structural conflict between China and U.S. Moreover, they don’t believe China can develop peacefully without seeking hegemony, because there is no precedent. Previously all big powers achieved their goals through waging wars or pillaging.

When asked how to enhance mutual trust between China and the U.S., Luo said China should address American doubts and explain its military strategy to the world, as well as demonstrating by its actions that it is pursuing peaceful development.

 

Is the U.S. encircling China?

During her visit to the Asia Pacific last October, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the U.S. was not seeking to contain China.

But the U.S. has strengthened its military cooperation with Taiwan; it has also enhanced ties with its five military allies in the Asia-Pacific region, and its alliances with Japan, S. Korea and Philippines cover both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. It has gained access to military bases in many South Asian countries and has built a strategic partnership with India; it has also built a dozen military bases in Central Asia under the pretext of fighting terrorism. The U.S. has also tried to woo Mongolia, Luo said.

Is the U.S. encircling China? Please take a look around China, Luo said. “The U.S. constantly urges China to increase transparency in its military strategy. We would also like them to explain to us their military intentions.”

Americans believe that their values are best and they are determined to spread them across the world and maintain their dominant position in the world. Because China’s social system, ideology and cultural traditions differ from theirs, they are unwilling to allow China to fully integrate into the international community, but they cannot ignore 5000 years of Chinese civilization, Luo said.

Three barriers to Sino-U.S. military ties

Major General Luo said that China has made great efforts to develop sound and stable military ties with the United States: China publishes a defense white paper every two years and has participated in the UN Military Budget Transparency Mechanism and the Conventional Weapons Registration System. China has also invited many U.S. high ranking military officials to visit China, including Robert Gates, who visited the Second Artillery Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during his recent China tour.

But three issues still hamper Sino-U.S. military relations: arms sales to Taiwan; frequent reconnaissance missions by U.S. ships and aircraft in China’s waters and airspace; and U.S. legislative limits on military exchanges with China, Major General Luo said. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010 and the Delay Amendment set restrictions on military exchanges with China in 12 areas.

Sino-U.S. relations in 2011

Luo said Sino-U.S. relationship should improve and develop smoothly this year as the U.S. has just held mid-term elections and the general elections are some time off. But accidental factors could not be avoided, such as the Taiwan issue and the Korean Peninsula issue, Major General Luo said. “If the U.S. sells F-16 CD fighter aircraft to Taiwan, it will definitely harm Sino-U.S. relations.”

 

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