Six countries begin military drill in Australia

Two Australian F/A-18 Hornet aircraft welcome Indonesian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker aircraft into Darwin to participate in Exercise Pitch Black 2012. An Australian MoD photo

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA (BNS): Six countries have kicked off an air exercise, codenamed Pitch Black, in the Northern Territory of Australia on July 27.

Over 2,000 personnel and up to 100 military aircraft from Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand and the US are taking part in the biennial military drill which would be held from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases in Darwin and Tindal.

"Exercise Pitch Black will use massive military training areas near Bradshaw and Delamere to practice offensive counter air and offensive air support operations with large formations of foreign aircraft," the Australian Defence Ministry said.

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Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Conducts Successful Missile Firing

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) conducted a live-firing of the Barak anti-missile missile in the South China Sea earlier today as part of the 18th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise which Singapore is conducting with the United States. The missile was fired by the upgraded RSN missile corvette RSS Victory against an air drone target simulating an attacking profile. The target was successfully destroyed.

The upgraded RSN missile corvette RSS Victory conducting the live-firing of Barak anti-missile missile during Exercise CARAT 2012. (picture: RSN)

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U.S. exempts China, Singapore from sanctions over purchase of Iran oil

The U.S. plans to impose sanctions on financial institutions of countries that deal with Iran's central bank. (File photo)

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The United States on Thursday exempted China and Singapore from sanctions over purchases of oil from Iran, hours before restrictions would have entered into force against their banks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement that China and Singapore had “significantly reduced” their crude oil purchases from Iran, joining most major economies in receiving exemptions from the new U.S. law.

Under a law aimed at pressing Iran over its nuclear program, the United States after Thursday will impose sanctions on financial institutions of countries that deal with Iran's central bank, which handles the country's main export.

Clinton credited the threat of sanctions with severely cutting Iran’s crude oil exports and estimated that it cost the country some $8 billion in lost revenue each quarter.

“Their cumulative actions are a clear demonstration to Iran’s government that Iran's continued violation of its international nuclear obligations carries an enormous economic cost,” she said in a statement.

Clinton exempted members of the European Union and Japan in March and on June 11 made the same exceptions for India, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan.

But the United States waited until the last minute to exempt China and Singapore, with U.S. officials holding weeks of talks with the two Asian nations on the issue.

Israel and some Western officials fear that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. The clerical regime insists that its sensitive nuclear work is for peaceful purposes.

“I urge Iran to demonstrate its willingness to take concrete steps toward resolving the nuclear issue during the expert-level talks scheduled in Istanbul” on Tuesday, Clinton said in the statement.

“Failure to do so will result in continuing pressure and isolation from the international community,” she said.

 Source :AFP