Xinhua posted an article that was originally published by People’s Daily (overseas edition), discussing the U.S. and Israel’s positions on Iran’s nuclear issue. The article focused on the February 29, 2012, meeting between U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The article said, “As Iran’s nuclear issue was becoming more and more pressing, Israel continued to claim, at difference strategic points, that it would launch a military attack against Iran. Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran’s nuclear development program has made new progress. This news worried Israel. In particular, the U.S. and E.U.’s economic sanctions against Iran’s development of nuclear weapons has seemed not to have had any effect. Israel is becoming even more anxious. "

“Regarding Israel’s continuous claim that its military will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. has been warning Israel to hold back. The U.S. appears to believe that it is not yet the right time to take military action against Iran. The U.S. prefers to wait for the economic sanctions to run their course, or  not to take action until Iran’s Middle East ally (Syria’s Assad) gets into trouble.”

“On Iran’s nuclear issue, both the U.S. and Israel have the same goal—to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. Israel is anxiously trying to take action, whereas the U.S. warns it to hold back. This “mutual cooperation” of both sides looks quite interesting.”

Source: Xinhua, March 5, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-03/03/c_111596862.htm

On March 3, 2012, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article titled “Being in the Lead Position in Northeast Asian Affairs, China Should Not Be Anxious about Thorny Peninsula (North Korea) Issues.” The article commented on an agreement that the U.S. and North Korea announced on February 29, 2012, that “North Korea will temporarily halt its nuclear tests, long-range missile launches, and Yongbyon uranium enrichment activities in exchange for aid from the United States in the form of food.” The article said that China should not hesitate to continue its special friendship with North Korea, since China has more influence on North Korea than the United States, Russia, and other major powers. Though North Korea will not strictly follow China’s advice, it has much more strategic trust in China than it does in other countries.

The article repeated its emphasis on China’s confidence in China-DPRK relations. China should have confidence in itself because “no matter how close the US-DPRK relationship is, it cannot be closer than the Sino-DPRK relationship. No one can possibly ‘trick China’ in terms of Peninsula affairs.” “Once a crisis occurs, others will panic more than we will.”

Source: Huanqiu, March 3, 2012
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Observation/2012-03/2490580.html

The Shanghai based news network East Day recently republished a report, originally from India’s TV news network IBNLive on work done by an independent Indian research institute. Research revealed that people believe there is a good possibility that China will make a “demand for territory,” and that a “massive military attack” is potentially likely, especially in the Arunachal Pradesh region, which the Chinese call “Southern Tibet.” There is a major difference in the understanding of the location of the “Line of Actual Control” between China and India. The research suggested a “hybrid strategy of defense plus offense” as a response to the potential invasion. The research concluded that, essentially, the best answer to an attack is to have an equivalent strategy.

Source: East Day, March 1, 2012
http://mil.eastday.com/m/20120301/u1a6396894.html