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26/09/2014 - Kazakhstan, Russia integrate defenses, looking for the real enemies [Times of Central Asia](Times of Central Asia Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Written by Charles van der Leeuw ALMATY (TCA) — On top of its membership with two regional pools that include joint military operations with neighbouring states, namely CSTO and SCO, Kazakhstan has been stepping up bilateral military cooperation with Russia in particular. The main motive is thought to be not just to put up a common fence against the possible rise of renewed Islamic extremism from its cradle in Afghanistan after NATO's retreat. Beyond doubt, Kazakhstan is keeping a close eye on what happens to the west, where, in case of a compromise in Ukraine, warmongers are likely to look for opportunities to create unrest further east. "President Vladimir Putin has signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation with Kazakhstan on September 18," the Kazakh newsreel Tengrinews reported referring to its Russian peer RIA Novosti. "The agreement will ease the supply of weapons between the two countries. At the present moment, Russian companies without a license cannot participate in the military technical cooperation." The agreement had been in the air for some time. "On 31 January during Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu's visit to Kazakhstan, details of the functioning of a joint regional air defence system were agreed upon," a report published in early May this year by a Polish newsreel called OSE read. "Russia took the largest part of responsibility for the modernisation of Kazakhstan's air defence – Kazakhstan will receive free of charge the armament for five divisions with S-300PS anti-missile and anti-ballistic air defence systems which will replace the obsolete armament from Soviet times. Russia and Kazakhstan signed the agreement on the establishment of a joint regional air defence system in January 2013 but it was not until the turn of December 2013 and January 2014 that the way it would be implemented was agreed upon." "Latest media reports suggest Russia plans to set up two stations of the System of Differential Correction and Monitoring (SDCM) for GLONASS in Kazakhstan," Tengrinews wrote in an earlier report. "Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) is Russia's most advanced satellite monitoring system developed as an alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the US and future systems Galileo and BeiDou developed by EU and China respectively. Russia plans to set up two stations of the System of Differential Correction and Monitoring (SDCM) for GLONASS in Kazakhstan." "There are 19 GLONASSS SDCM stations across Russia," Tengrinews' report relates. "They provide an accuracy of navigation signal reception of up to one meter. There are three more stations in Antarctica and one in Brazil. This summer the U.S. refused to place base stations for Russia's GLONASS satellite navigation system on its territory. […] In response to America's refusal Russia banned the use of GPS on the Russian territory for military purposes. At present, the GLONASS partnership comprises 12 companies, including Russian state-run telecom giant Rostelecom, Internet company Yandex and Russia's three largest mobile operators - MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom, operating under the Beeline brand, that also holds a large share of Kazakhstan's market. […] Placement of the GLONASS stations in Kazakhstan signifies a deeper integration of the Kazakh-Russian networks and advancement of the two along the path of military cooperation." Kazakhstan spends only 1.1 per cent of its GDP on defence. The country still knows conscription, with 18 being the legal minimum age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is 2 years. In all, Kazakhstan has in the order of 110,000 people in its army, including non-combat personnel. Armed forces proper amount to around 64,000. A population of hardly more than 17 million cannot spare much more manpower, and also given Kazakhstan's immensely vast territory sharing defence efforts with neighbours looks like a logical thing to do. However, not everybody might look at it from such a point of view… (c) 2014 The Times Of central Asia. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |