Syria meets deadline for declaring chemical weapons facilities; Chinese newspaper withdraws support for reporter accused of fabricating stories about manufacturing company; Japan warns China about maritime activities near disputed islands; Georgia's ruling party wins elections; fresh controversy over NSA phone-tapping; and more

Top of the Agenda: Syria Meets Deadline on Chemical Weapons Declaration

The international body overseeing the disarmament of Syria's chemical weapons says the Assad government has met the deadline for submitting a declaration of its facilities (LAT) and the plan to destroy its arsenal. Details were not available for the plan, which the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons must now consider in its executive council. Western states are likely to scrutinize the plan since their intelligence found forty-five chemical weapons sites (Economist) and Syria's government has identified only twenty-three. Inspectors have been in the country since October 1 and have overseen destruction of bombs, unarmed warheads, and mixing machines. But the destruction of the chemicals themselves is to be more complicated.

Analysis

"Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are proving every day that professionals can still carry out essential work where there is political will. If weapons inspectors can carry out their crucial mission to ensure Syria's chemical weapons can never be used again, then we can also find a way for aid workers on a no less vital mission to deliver food and medical treatment to men, women, and children suffering through no fault of their own," writes U.S. secretary of state John Kerry in Foreign Policy.

"Syria's huge investment in chemical weapons was originally seen by its government as a way to deter a nuclear-armed Israel rather than as a means to terrorise and coerce its own citizens. It would be surprising if President Bashar Assad does not have contingency plans for covertly hanging on to some of that hard-won capability," writes the Economist.

"All hell has broken loose in Syria, with jihadist groups competing with the regime in savagery as both unleash attacks on revolutionaries and opponents. People are begging for a solution, but all the Obama administration seems to be seeking in Geneva is a process for the sake of a process," writes Rime Allaf in the Guardian.

 

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PACIFIC RIM

Chinese Newspaper Recants Support for Reporter

The New Express apologized for supporting (SCMP) a reporter who investigated the finances of one of China's largest construction equipment manufacturers. Chen Yongzhou confessed on state television that he accepted bribes to publish fabricated stories about the company.

JAPAN: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned China (JapanTimes) again on Sunday about its growing maritime activities near the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, pledging more surveillance to protect the islands.

This CFR Infoguide provides in-depth analysis on China's maritime disputes.

ELSEWHERE:

Georgia's ruling party wins elections

Fresh controversy over NSA phone-tapping

 

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.