Courcy’s Intelligence Brief

*** A Saudi reaction to Iran nuclear talks.  The Saudi Arabian daily al-Watan responded sceptically on 28 February to the ostensibly positive outcome of the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the UN Security Council five permanent members plus Germany (P5+1).  The Saudi daily said that the relatively soft tone emanating from the Western powers shows that “the Western camp in the 5+1 group is facing a genuine dilemma regarding this dossier and does not want to stir matters up at this particular point in time”.

The paper then went on to warn: “The 5+1 group’s clear failure to adopt a united position on the Iranian nuclear file, which is a threat to the entire region, reflects the entire international community’s failure to maintain peace and prevent the proliferation of banned weapons.”

And, for good measure, it added: “The region’s issues cannot be separated from one another.  They are largely interconnected.  It simply makes no sense to separate Tehran’s nuclear programme from Iran’s clear backing for the Syrian regime and its support and financing of Lebanese Hezbollah as well as other sectarian currents and groups in Iraq.”

*** North Korean grain imports from China dive.  According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, the volume of grain imported from China by North Korea plummeted in January.  During January, North Korea imported 2,174 tons of grain.  This was just 9.2% of the total imported in December.  The figure of 2 tons of fertilizer imported in January was 20% of the December figure.

Kwon Tae-jin, a researcher at the Korea Rural Economic Institute said: “The biggest reason is because China has recently begun to restrict grain exports to meet growing domestic demand.”  However, he added that bilateral tension caused by the North’s rocket launch and nuclear test over the past months “may also have affected the two-way grain trade”.

*** More Chinese incursions into Japanese waters.  On 6 March, two Chinese fishery surveillance vessels sailed into Japan’s territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.  This marked the 32nd incursion into Japanese waters by Chinese ships since September, when the Japanese government bought a number of Senkaku Islands from a private owner.

According to Japan’s coastguard, three other Chinese vessels were seen in contiguous waters, and when warned not to enter Japanese waters they responded by saying that the waters were part of Chinese sovereign territory.