Crossfire War – Japan – Pakistan Increase Anti-Proliferation Effort

Crossfire War – TEHRAN WATCH – Eurasia Theatre: Islamabad – Tokyo/Tehran – Beijing; Japan – Pakistan Increase Joint Effort in Anti-Proliferation and Counter – Terrorism

Night Watch: ISLAMABAD – In an expression of extreme concern about threats to her investments in South Asia and the Middle East Japan – Pakistan conducted a senior level meeting in Islamabad in an attempt to increase their joint cooperation against the spread and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Pakistan daily Dawn reported on a meeting Thursday held on a senior level with both sides represented by their respective Director-General for Disarmament in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Islamabad was represented by Khalilullah Qazi and Tokyo by Takeshi Nakane. This was an extension of the meeting both governments held in January this year as this program was instituted but in light of events this week, with Pyongyang launching several ballistic missiles, both governments have more of a sense of immediacy. [IRNA]

A very grim reality may have dawned on both governments. Both Tokyo-Islamabad are aware that Pakistan’s missile-nuclear program was not instituted yesterday. For 20 years Pakistan has benefitted from advanced weapon technology exports from China and that Beijing also had North Korea involved in Pakistan’s missile-nuclear program as a way of continuing China’s opposition to India. Beijing knew that if Pakistan were better equipped they would be in a position to be more successful in their next war with India weakening one of China’s rivals. Tokyo is of course aware that war means Japan’s investments throughout South Asia will be caught in a ballistic/cruise missile crossfire and some with nuclear warheads, therefore can any thing be done, at the last minute, to halt the further spread of such weaponry.

But things have obviously gotten out of control. Beijing does not mind, and Tokyo is aware of this. They also realize Japan would have no difficulty defeating North Korea whose military is rusting, but perhaps Islamabad can still see reason and realize the consequences of relying too much on military and economic support from Tehran. The military support will be there but perhaps not the economic, especially with Tehran announcing recently they will sell no cheap gas to Pakistan. Memories of the first Persian Empire are still fresh in Pakistan and they remember the first one had a very real tendency to be very dictatorial and demanding economically. Pakistan may not want to become to Iran what North Korea is to China, a destitute provincial firing range for the latest advanced weaponry existing on economic handouts.

Therefore Pakistan realizes she needs as many economic contacts as possible. The last thing Islamabad needs to do is to cut off investment from the world’s second largest economy, not to mention also from the EU, Russia and the US who are showing signs of acting more in concert with each other in light of these common enemies. The message from Tokyo could be that whatever Islamabad has accumulated in its nuclear-missile program that should be it and nothing more, otherwise it would destroy future investment in Pakistan from Japan. Tokyo may have also proposed that Islamabad should seriously consider ending any further cooperation with Tehran’s nuclear – missile program.

As (f)allout fighting gets closer, with so many countries, Iran-Pakistan-India-Russia-China-US-UK-France increasing their nuclear stockpiles of any conceivable nuclear weapon and their delivery systems, plus with virtually any government in NATO, especially Berlin, able to get a hold of nuclear weaponry virtually overnight and with Tokyo possessing 23 tons of plutonium, obviously things have gotten out of hand. This is why a lot of my articles have often hinted the best method of anti-proliferation will be when these same governments, and all their Research & Development technicians, see these missiles missing not to mention the probablility of dud warheads. What is their hilarious explanation for North Korea’s profound failure in the pathetic performance of the much heralded Taepodong-2? It was aimed for waters off Hawaii and landed near Vladivostok. It was supposed to be capable of at least 4,000 miles and didn’t even travel a tenth of that.

And this is technology Tehran-Pakistan have been importing for years, supposedly from reliable sources. Is this the best Beijing-Pyongyang can do? Perhaps the reality that has dawned on Islamabad is that when the smoke clears there is no advantage in being another North Korea, that is the real export from Pyongyang.

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Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.