Week 33-34 in #wapenhandel25tweets

(Gaarne 'liken' of delen als je het nuttig of interessant vindt.

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1 – 250818: One of the key goals of the ATT is to prevent the diversion of conventional arms and ammunition to illicit actors. CAR’s latest report, Diversion Digest, highlights key actors in cases of diversion CAR has identified http://www.conflictarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/diversion-digest-01.pdf

Netherlands / Nederland (see also 14)

2 – 230818: The 'restrictive' Dutch government gave export licenses in June (latest reports) for weapon components to Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, and UAE. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2016/10/01/overzicht-uitvoer-militaire-goederenIn line with my analysis http://broekstukken.blogspot.com/2018/07/hidden-parts-of-dutch-arms-export-policy.html

3 – 250818: One of the conclusions from an EDA workshop: "The evidence of the last decade is that nations only cooperate once they have (almost) crashed against the wall, i.e. lost a capability."http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2018/603841/EXPO_IDA(2018)603841_EN.pdf

4 – 250818: Belgium defence research organisation #GRIP dives deep into the Belgium defence industry: 71 companies and 11,403 jobs (8,600 in Wallonia, 2,000 in Flanders and 800 in Brussels. [in French] https://www.grip.org/fr/node/262

5 – 250818: The German arms exports increased in ten years from €4,18bn in 2006 to €6,85bn in 2016. Remarkable is the value of exports to non-EU/NATO countries. Ten years ago this was € 1.15bn and increased to €3,67bn in 2016. https://www.fr.de/politik/ruestungsbranche-umwandlung-der-waffenfirmen-scheitert-a-1567417?GEPC=s3via @fr

6 – 130818: Licenses for the exports of Strategic goods from Ireland valued € 3.23bn in 2017: € 3.21 bn dual-use and the rest 11 % military, police or state security forces. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-is-biggest-buyer-in-25m-military-market-0vnx3cfg0

7 – 140818: In 2017 Spain supplied about € 361m worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and its gulf allies, but Spain supplies to Riyadh and other members of the Saudi-led coalition, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said on Monday. https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/spain-may-limit-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia-409886.html

8 – 250818: Swiss lobby for relaxing arms export rules continues.

Bern unterstützt Lockerung von Waffenexporten. https://www.handelszeitung.ch/politik/bern-unterstutzt-lockerung-von-waffenexporten

9 – 160818: UK government has published a technical notice to inform stakeholders how export controls would be affected if the UK leaves the EU with no deal. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-201821-government-publishes-no-deal-technical-notice-on-export-control-regulation/notice-to-exporters-201821-government-publishes-no-deal-technical-notice-on-export-control-regulation

REST of the world

10 – 240818: Angola's President Joao Lourenco is in Europe to promote the country as investment-friendly. In Germany, he is not only seeking ordinary investment in agriculture, technology or construction. Lourenco wants war ships. https://www.dw.com/en/angola-wants-german-investors-and-war-ships/a-45196227

11 – 230818: Azerbaijan shows off kamikaze Israeli Harop kamikaze drone in military exercises https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2018/08/21/azerbaijan-shows-off-kamikaze-drone-in-military-exercises/

12 – 240818: #China now 2nd-largest spender on defence, Chinese companies are going to rank among the largest defence firms. But quantifying that number has proven incredibly difficult thanks to the opaque nature of both government spending and the firms themselves. https://www.defensenews.com/top-100/2018/08/23/these-7-chinese-companies-each-topped-5b-in-defense-sales-and-could-rival-american-firms/

13 – 160818: The Israeli Navy is set to receive four next-generation Sa'ar 6 corvettes between 2019 and 2024. The 300-feet-long warships, which are currently being built in Kiel, Germany. More on tasks and tech. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article.aspx?did=1001250065#utm_source=iglobes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=iglobes

14 – 150818: Steel cutting ceremony of offshore patrol vessel for Pakistan navy held in Romania https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/355526-steel-cutting-ceremony-of-offshore-patrol-vessel-for-pakistan-navy-held-in-romania

(see also: http://broekstukken.blogspot.com/2017/12/pakistan-en-australie-deel-5-serie-over.html)

15 – 230818: Qatar’s government has finalised an order for 28 NH Industries NH90 military helicopters that are scheduled to be delivered between 2022 and 2025. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/qatar-inks-nh90-order-with-leonardo-451272/

NH Industries is jointly owned by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo and Fokker

16 – 240818: The Ukrainian government during its meeting on Wednesday has approved an intergovernmental agreement with Qatar on cooperation in the military-technical sector, local media reported. http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2018-08/23/content_59804601.htm

17 – 240818: The Saudi navy buying a stronger fleet (in Spain and US) and its plans for the future. https://www.defenceiq.com/air-land-and-sea-defence-services/news/snep-ii-modernisation-of-saudi-arabias-navy

18 – 240818: States have an legal obligation to investigate alleged laws-of-war violations by their forces. Coalition members have sought to evade this by hiding behind the Saudi led coalition. https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/08/24/hiding-behind-coalition/failure-credibly-investigate-and-provide-redress-unlawful

Full report: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/yemen0818_web.pdf

19 – 250818: Retired submarine experts from Japan have been invited to Taiwan in September, to train the necessary personnel and present a report on Taiwan’s domestic submarine program. https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2018/august-2018-navy-naval-defense-news/6450-experts-from-japan-to-assist-taiwan-with-submarine-project.html

20 – 140818: PGW Defence Technologies of Winnipeg is the #Canadian firm that will be selling #sniper rifles to #Ukraine’s military. https://montrealgazette.com/news/canada/winnipeg-firm-wins-1m-deal-to-send-sniper-rifles-to-ukraine/wcm/376e721c-27c7-4b44-911d-f0b1861f0f16

21 – 130818: Latest Defense News arms industry top-100. From Lockheed Martin to Oki Electric Industry. Here the 18 largest weapon military tech producers. For more see: https://www.defensenews.com/top-100/

22 – 130818: Infographic on defense industry top-100.

23 – 130818: What is the international communities role in the war in Yemen and how to stop it?

With: Simon Mabon - Researcher and lecturer at Lancaster University

@PWezeman - Senior researcher at SIPRI

Hakim Almasmari - Yemen Post newspaper https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2018/08/stop-war-yemen-180810183141096.html

24 – 230818: After bloody air strike in Yemen early August, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren is challenging the top US commander for the Mideast to say whether the US military can track the purpose, mission and results of airstrikes in Yemen it supports. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2018/08/16/can-the-us-track-how-its-weapons-are-used-in-yemen-elizabeth-warren-wants-to-know/

DEFENCE-INDUSTRY

25 – 240818: GKN Fokker Elmo and the State of Maharashtra (India) have signed an MOU for investment in a second manufacturing facility for wiring interconnection systems in India at the Farnborough Air Show today. https://www.gkn.com/en/newsroom/news-releases/aerospace/2018/gkn-aerospace-is-establishing-a-new-wiring-facility-in-india-to-support-expansion-in-asia/

26 – 150818: Interview CEO Thales: "Defence is 50% and civil is 50%." Position in: "5 markets where we are positioned - defence, aeronautics, space, security and ground transportation."'We are changing gears and leveraging the Make in India policy'https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/the-hub/we-are-changing-gears-and-leveraging-the-make-in-india-policy-says-patrice-caine/story/281018.html… via @BT_India

WEAPENS

27 – 240818: New Zealand defence forum protesters say 'weapons expo' violates city's peace status. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/106425562/defence-forum-protesters-say-weapons-expo-violates-citys-peace-status

28 – 130818: World Fighter Programmes and Requirements 2018-19. Booklet with overview over fighter programs and acquisitions. https://internationalfighter.iqpc.co.uk/landing/world-fighter-programmes-and-requirements-2018-19

30 – 230818: The 1 gun issue Americans agree on: they object to their distribution because guns made this way are untraceable and undetectable.

31 – 240818: Judge to Congress, executive branch: Face up to problems of 3-D printed guns. We don't wait for heroin to be produced and than try to find it. http://www.thedailyworld.com/nation-world/judge-to-congress-executive-branch-face-up-to-problems-of-3-d-printed-guns/

32 – 240818: The German government has approved less small arms exports during the first six months of 2018 compared to last year. But critics have cast doubt on the decrease, saying light weapons sales have grown significantly. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-small-arms-exports-down-light-weapons-up/a-45153298

OTHER

This is a selection from a larger amount of tweets. Tweets with a relation the Netherlands, arms trade and defence-industry weight heavier in the selection. If you want to have them daily see http://twitter.com/martinbroek