US will soon threaten to topple Saudi Arabia as the world's top oil exporter: IEA

Two days ago the Yahoo News On-line reported the following:

Yahoo Finance

US will soon threaten to topple Saudi Arabia as the world's top oil exporter: IEA

CNBC  Tom DiChristopher, CNBC 8 hours ago

The United States became the world's biggest oil producer in 2018, and over the next five years, the nation will take aim at becoming the top oil exporter, according to the International Energy Agency.

IEA forecasts U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products will nearly double, hitting about 9 million barrels per day by 2024. At that level, the U.S. will surpass Russia's shipments and threaten to unseat Saudi Arabia, the current top exporter.

The forecast from IEA comes just weeks after the U.S. exported a record 3.6 million barrels per day of crude oil. The country is also a major exporter of petroleum products, including refined fuels like gasoline.

Those shipments will surge in the coming years as crude production from the nation's shale fields continues to boom, IEA says in its annual five-year oil outlook. The Paris-based adviser to oil consumers and producers sees U.S. crude output — already at a record 12 million bpd — growing by another 4 million bpd through 2024.

"The second wave of the U.S. shale revolution is coming," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. "It will see the United States account for 70 percent of the rise in global oil production and some 75 percent of the expansion in LNG trade over the next five years. This will shake up international oil and gas trade flows, with profound implications for the geopolitics of energy."

Pulling ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia in exports would further erode their influence in the oil market.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have formed an alliance in recent years, coordinating oil production among OPEC and other oil-producing countries. The so-called OPEC+ alliance has capped output for much of the last two years, helping to boost oil prices after a punishing downturn.

Most of the output growth from OPEC over the next five years will come from Iraq, IEA says. The group thinks the country will be the world's third-biggest source of new supply, helping to offset production declines in Iran and Venezuela, both of which are grappling with U.S. sanctions on their state-controlled energy industries.

On Monday, Birol said the IEA's long-standing effort to assess the oil market without much regard for geopolitics is becoming increasingly difficult.

"We are seeing that geopolitical concerns are casting an increasing shadow on the oil markets today and tomorrow," he said during a press conference at CERAWeek by IHS Markit, a major energy conference in Houston.

The world will need new supply, in IEA's view. The group sees no signs that growing oil demand will peak in the coming years. It forecasts the world's appetite for oil will increase at an average 1.2 million bpd over the next five years, roughly in line with recent growth trends.

While the group sees electric cars and fuel efficiency sapping demand for gasoline, IEA thinks rising petrochemicals and jet fuel consumption will offset any weakness at the pump.

In addition to the U.S. and Iraq, IEA sees countries like Brazil, Norway and Guyana meeting rising demand for oil.

In a major shift, the U.S. became the biggest source of oil demand growth in the world, overtaking China, long the engine of global commodity consumption. The robust U.S. consumption was driven by strong economic growth and high demand in the petrochemicals industry, which processes fossil fuels and by-products into chemicals like plastics.

"US oil consumption [growth] last year was about a half-million barrels per day, and as such it was the highest in all the countries around," Birol said on Monday. "It was the first time that the United States in the last two decades was the No. 1 driver of oil consumption growth."

The U.S. achieved the feat against a backdrop of slowing global economic growth, particularly in China.

My Translation

雅虎財經

美國很快將構成威脅取代沙特阿拉伯作為世界最大石油出口國：国际能源署

CNBC Tom DiChristopher，CNBC 8小時前

據國際能源署（International Energy Agency）稱，美國在2018年成為世界上最大的石油生產國，未來五年，美國將成為最大的石油出口國。

國際能源機構預測，美國對原油和石油產品的出口將增加近一倍，到2024年將達到每天約900萬桶。在這一水平上，美國將超過俄羅斯的出口量，並威脅要取代目前最大出口國沙特阿拉伯。

國際能源機構的預測是基于美國創出每天出口360萬桶原油的紀錄後的幾週。該國也是石油產品的主要出口國，包括汽油等精煉燃料。

國際能源署在其五年石油年度展望中表示，由於該國頁岩油田的原油產量持續增長，未來幾年這出貨量將激增。這家總部位於巴黎的石油消費者和生產商顧問認為，到2024年，美國的原油產量 - 由现在已達到創紀錄的1200萬桶/日 - 将会再额外增加400萬桶/天。

国际能源署執行主任法蒂赫比羅爾在一份聲明中說“美國頁岩革命的第二次浪潮即將來臨。” “未來五年，全球石油產量增長美國將佔70％，以及液化天然氣貿易增長的75％。這將改變國際石油和天然氣貿易流動。對能源地緣政治產生深遠影響。”

在出口方面將領先俄羅斯和沙特阿拉伯, 并進一步削弱他們在石油市場的影響力。

沙特阿拉伯和俄羅斯近年來已經結成聯盟，協調石油輸出國組織和其他石油生產國之間的石油生產。所謂石油輸出國組織+其他聯盟, 在過去兩年的大部分時間裡都限制了產量，幫助提高在經歷了嚴重的經濟衰退後的油價。

国际能源署表示未來五年的產量增長大部分將來自伊拉克。該集團認為，該國將成為世界第三大新供應來源，有助於抵消伊朗和委內瑞拉的產量下降，后者两国都在努力應對美國對其國家控制的能源產業的制裁。

比羅爾在週一表示，国际能源署長期以來一直在努力評估石油市場而不太關注地緣政治，這種做法變得越來越困難。

他在休斯頓由IHS Markit舉行的一次重要能源會議CERAWeek新聞發布會上說 “我們看到地緣政治問題正在給今天和明天的石油市場帶來越來越大的影響” 。

在国际能源署看來，世界將需要新的供應。該集團沒有看到未來幾年石油需求增長將達到頂峰值的跡象。它預測未來五年全球石油需求將平均每天增加120萬桶，大致與近期增長趨勢一致。

雖然該集團認為電動汽車和燃油效率將削弱對汽油的需求，但国际能源署認為石化產品和噴射機燃料消耗的增加將抵產消油需要的疲弱。

除美國和伊拉克外，国际能源署還看到巴西，挪威和圭亞那等國家對石油的需求增加作出應對。

在重大轉變下，美國成為全球石油需求增長的最大來源，超過長期以來一直是全球商品消費引擎的中國。強勁的美國消費是由強勁的經濟增長和石化行業的高需求所推動，石化行業將化石燃料和副產品加工成塑料等化學品。

比羅爾週一表示“美國去年的石油消費量[增長]約為每天50萬桶，因此它是所有國家中最高的”。 “這是過去二十年來美國首次成為石油消費增長的第一大推動力。”

美國在全球經濟增長放緩，特別是在中國的背景下，取得了這一成就。

My Comments

The fact that the United States will account for 70 percent of the rise in global oil production and some 75 percent of the expansion in LNG trade over the next five years would surely change the global geopolitics of energy. I think the US’s ability to become the world’s leading oil exporter will give it another trump card in exerting global influence.

越南表示有漁船被中國船撞後下沉

Recently the Yahoo News On-line reported the following:

Vietnam says fishing boat rammed and sunk by Chinese ship

Associated Press  HAU DINH, Associated Press Fri, Mar 8 3:15 AM PST

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Vietnamese fishing boat capsized after being rammed by a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea's contested Paracel Islands, a Vietnamese official said Friday. China said its boat came upon the fishing vessel after it started sinking and sought help for the crew.

The boat was fishing near Discovery Reef when the incident occurred Wednesday, said the Vietnamese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. The Paracel archipelago is claimed by both Vietnam and China, which took control of the islands in 1974.

An online report by the newspaper Tuoi Tre said the five crewmen aboard the Vietnamese boat clung to the bow of their upturned vessel for two hours until they were rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat.

The official Chinese Communist Party newspaper reported that a Chinese government vessel received a distress call from a Vietnamese fishing boat and sailed to the area, where it found the boat partly sunk. The online report, quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, said the Chinese ship immediately contacted China's maritime search and rescue center to dispatch a rescue vessel and the five Vietnamese fishermen were rescued.

Lu said nothing about a vessel, Chinese or otherwise, ramming the Vietnamese ship other than to cite the original Vietnamese report. He also didn't specifically say that the Chinese ship rescued the fishermen.

China's territorial claims extend far into the South China Sea, and it maintains a robust maritime presence that includes driving away non-Chinese fishing boats. Its coast guard performs most such actions, assisted by ships of the maritime militia — ostensibly civilian fishing boats that can swiftly be mobilized. There have been several previously reported incidents of Vietnamese fishing boats being attacked by Chinese vessels.

China has also built up reefs and islands, transforming them into military installations to further its claim to the disputed waterway and its resources, a major point of regional tension. A standoff between the countries in 2014 after China parked an oil rig near the Paracel Islands sparked deadly riots in Vietnam.

(Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this story)

My Chinese translation

越南河內（AP） - 越南官員周五表示，一艘越南漁船在南中國海有爭議的西沙群島被中國船隻撞後傾覆。中國說當船開始下沉及船員尋求幫助時他們来到這渔船。

這名越南官員說，由於沒有授權向新聞界發表講話，這名越南官員不願透露姓名。越南和中國都聲稱西沙群島並在1974年控制了這些島嶼。

青年報 (Tuoi Tre) 的在線版報導稱，越南船上的五名船員緊緊抓住他們上翹船隻的船頭兩小時，直到他們被另一艘越南漁船救起。

官方的中國共產黨報紙報導說，一艘中國政府船隻接到一艘越南漁船的遇險呼叫並航行到該地區，在那裡發現該船部分沉沒。這篇網上報導援引中國外交部發言人陸慷的話說，這艘中國船隻立即聯繫中國海上搜救中心派遣一艘救援船，五名越南漁民獲救。

除了引用越南的原本报告外，陸先生沒有提及中國或其他船隻撞擊越南船隻的事情。他也沒有具體說中國船隻救出了漁民。

中國的領土主張遠遠延伸到南中國海，並保持在這海域作出強勢出現，包括趕走非中國漁船。其海岸警衛隊在海上民兵的船隻協助下執行大多數此趕走類行動 - 他們明顯地是可以迅速動員起來的民用漁船。此前已有幾次越南漁船被中國船隻襲擊事件。

中國還建立了珊瑚礁和島嶼，將它們轉變為軍事設施，以進一步宣稱擁有有爭議的水道及其資源，這是地區緊張局勢的一個重點。因中國在西沙群島附近停放石油鑽井平台後所引發的2014年两國對峙, 曾引起越南發生致命騷亂。

My comments

              On and off, Vietnam reported to the world that its fishing boats were rammed by Chinese vessels in the South China Sea's contested Paracel Islands. Obviously, China is having territorial disputes on sea respectively with Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam concurrently. I hope they can solve the disagreement by peaceful means eventually.

China to launch a Mars spacecraft next year - scientists from the National Space Agency made it clear

Recently the CNN.co.jp reported the following:

中国、火星探査機を来年打ち上げへ　国家宇宙局の科学者が明言

2019.03.04 Mon posted at 11:44 JST

（ＣＮＮ） 中国は月の裏側へ送り込んだ探査機の着陸成功に続き、来年中に火星着陸を目指して探査機を打ち上げる。月探査プロジェクトの設計を指揮する国家宇宙局の呉偉仁（ウーウェイレン）氏が３日に明言した。

呉氏は北京で開催された人民政治協商会議（ＣＰＰＣＣ）の開幕に先立ち、「我々はこの６０年間で多くを達成したが、世界の宇宙大国にはまだはるかに遅れをとっている。ペースを上げる必要がある」と述べ、「来年には火星探査機を打ち上げ、軌道を周回させ、着陸させて探査する」と宣言した。

中国はさらに、月面に次の探査機を着陸させ、サンプルを地球に持ち帰らせるプロジェクトも計画している。

中国西部の青海省にはこのほど、火星の環境をモデルにした模擬火星基地が開設された。国営紙グローバル・タイムズによると、基地の総工費は約２５億円、敷地面積は５万３３３０平方メートル。カプセルに６０人、周囲のテント村に数百人を収容できる。

呉氏によると、１月初めに世界で初めて月の裏側に着陸した「嫦娥４号」の探査車「玉兎２号」は現在、着陸地点から北西へ向かっている。

月面の夜は１４日間続き、マイナス１９０度まで冷え込むことから、探査車は電子部品などを守るため、一時「冬眠モード」に入るよう設定されている。数日前には自動的に目覚め、正常に稼働を再開したという。

呉氏は「この数日間で多くのデータが得られた」と述べ、データは世界に公表するとの方針を示した。

Translation

2019.03.04 Mon posted at 11:44 JST

(CNN) Following the successful landing of a spacecraft to the back of the moon, China would launch a spacecraft aiming at a Mars landing next year. The National Space Agency director Wu Wei-ren (commander of the lunar exploration project) said on Thursday.

Prior to the opening of the People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held in Beijing, Mr. Wu said "although we have achieved much in the past 60 years, we are still far behind the world's space powers. He said “we need to increase the pace”; and declared that “we will launch a Mars spacecraft next year,  it will go around the orbit and land to probe. "

China was also planning a project to land the next spacecraft on the moon and bring samples back to the earth.

The Qinghai province in the western part of China had recently opened a simulated Martian base modeling on the environment of Mars. According to the government’s Global Times (環球時報), the total construction cost of the base was about 2.5 billion yen, the site area was 53,330 square meters. It could accommodate 60 people in a capsule and hundreds more in the surrounding tent village.

According to Mr. Wu " Yù tù No. 2", the exploration car of " Cháng’é No. 4" which was the first in the world to land on the back side of the moon at the beginning of January, was now heading northwest from its landing point.

Since the night on the moon continued for 14 days and it could cool down to minus 190 degrees, the exploration car was set to enter a temporary "hibernation mode" so as to protect electronic components etc.  It woke up automatically a few days ago and resumed normal operations.

Mr. Wu said, "a lot of data were obtained in the past few days" and indicated a policy to open up the data to the world.

              It is interesting to note the China’s space projects seem not to have been affected by the tight economic situation now facing.

Rising risk in premature death due to "super processed food" - French research

Last month CNN.co.jp reported the following:

「超加工食品」で早死にのリスク上昇　仏研究

2019.02.15 Fri posted at 17:50 JST

  （ＣＮＮ） 食生活の中で高度に加工された「超加工食品」の占める割合が大きい人ほど、早死にするリスクが高くなるとの研究結果が報告された。

フランスの研究チームが米医学誌「ＪＡＭＡ内科学」に論文を発表した。

チームによれば、超加工食品は工場で複数の材料から作られ、一般に技術上、外観上の理由から添加物が含まれている。そのまま、あるいは温めるだけで手軽に食べられる食事やスナック、デザートとして、ここ数十年で急速に普及した。これまでの研究で肥満や高血圧、がんとの関連が指摘されている。

チームは超加工食品と早死にするリスクの関連性を調べるため、フランスに住む４５歳以上の成人４万４５５１人に協力を依頼した。参加者の平均年齢は５７歳で、女性が約７３％を占めた。

参加者は２年間、半年ごとに２４時間の飲食記録を提出し、ＢＭＩ（体格指数）などの数値や活動量、社会人口学的属性についての質問にも答えた。

参加者が飲食した総量のうち超加工食品の占める割合を計算すると、重量ベースで平均約１４％、カロリーベースで同約２９％に上っていた。

研究期間中に６０２人の参加者が死亡した。喫煙などの要因を調整したうえで計算したところ、超加工食品の割合が１０ポイント増えるごとに、死亡リスクは１４％以上高くなることが分かったという。

チームはこの結果について、超加工食品に含まれる添加物や保存中に包装材から移る化学物質、高温処理などの加工自体が影響している可能性を指摘した。

これに対して専門家からは、「超加工食品」という分類は範囲が広すぎ、どの要因がリスクにつながるのかを特定できないと批判する意見も出ている。

Translation

(CNN) Research results showed that a higher risk of premature death was being reported among people consuming a larger proportion of "super processed foods" in the dietary habit.

The French research team published a paper on the American medicine journal "JAMA Internal Medicine".

According to the team, super processed food was made from multiple materials in the factory and generally contain additives for both technical reasons and outward-looking reasons. The food had spread rapidly in recent decades because meals, snacks and desserts could be eaten easily by simply warming them up. Previous studies had pointed out that they were related to obesity, hypertension and cancer.

In order to investigate the relationship between super processed food and risks of premature death, the team asked for cooperation from 45,551 adults over 45 years of age living in France. The average age of participants was 57 years, and women accounted for about 73%.

Participants submitted 24-hour eating and drinking records every six months for two years and answered questions about numerical values ​​such as BMI (body mass index), activity levels, and social demographics attributes.

When calculating the proportion of super processed food among the total food consumed by participants, the average went up to about 14% on a weight basis and 29% on a calorie basis.

During the studying period, 602 participants died. Calculated after adjusting factors such as smoking, it was found that the risk of death would increase by 14% or more when the percentage of super processed food was increased by 10 points.

About this result, the team pointed out that it might be affected by additives contained in the super processed food, by the chemical substances transferred from packaging materials during storage, and by the food processing itself such as high temperature treatments.

On the other hand, some experts criticized that the classification of "super processed food" was too broad and what factors might lead to the risk could not be identified.

          It seems that to avoid eating super processed food could be a wise decision.

習掌權後年年加 中國軍費料破1.4萬億

Recently the Apple Daily Online in Hong Kong reported the following:

蘋果日報【兩岸頭條】2019年03月05

習掌權後年年加 中國軍費料破1.4萬億

全國人大今天召開，人大發言人昨在記者會上面對中國軍費增長的「必答題」時，再次迴避公佈中國軍費預算數字。中國軍費預算自習近平掌權後一路快速飆升，2017年突破1萬億人民幣，而預計2019年此數字或將接近1.2萬億人民幣（約1.4萬億港元）。

全國人大開幕前一天的新聞發佈會是外界觀察人大的重要窗口，主要是介紹會議議程及有關安排等，並回答記者提問。自中國2017年軍費突破1萬億人民幣後，為防止外界忌憚，無論是人大的記者會還是總理李克強的政府工作報告都不再提及軍費的具體數字。人大發言人張業遂在2018年，便未有按慣例透露中國軍費增長數字。今年他在回應彭博社記者關於中國國防預算問題時，仍然顧左右而言他，避談具體數字和增幅。張僅表示，縱向地看，從2016年起，中國的國防費從連續5年兩位數增長，降到了單位數。橫向比較，2018年中國的國防費佔GDP的比例約為1.3%，而同期一些主要發達國家的國防費佔國內生產總值的比例都在2%以上。張強調，中國有限的國防費完全是為了維護國家的主權、安全和領土完整，不會對其他國家構成威脅。

習近平自2012上台以來，大力推動「軍改」加大體制編制改革，強軍政策之下前三年的軍費一直以兩位數級別增長，2015年實施裁軍30萬的政策之後，軍費增幅下降至個位數級別。然而近年隨着解放軍逐漸加強構築海空軍建設，邊境爭議地區、海域危機加深，軍費增幅有可能再度上漲。

英國國際戰略研究所公佈的2018年國家軍費排名顯示，美國以6,430億美元（約5.04萬億港元）的開支遙遙領先於世界各國，而中國則以1,682億美元（約1.32萬億港元）居世界第二，沙地、俄羅斯、印度則緊隨其後。而2019年的美國國防預算將達到7,160億美元（約5.62萬億港元）。

除了對外的軍費問題，中共的公共安全開支同樣值得關注。2018年中國的維穩費近1.26萬億元人民幣（約1.47萬億港元)，料在今年再有增長。由於華為間諜問題甚囂塵上，2017年通過的《國家情報法》同樣被提及，該法第七條要求中國國內任何組織和公民要「依法支持、協助和配合國家情報工作」。張業遂指，該法主要是維護中國的國家安全和利益，不是為了侵害他國的安全利益。他批評美國拿《國家情報法》說事，渲染特定中國企業產品存在所謂安全風險，是以政治手段干預經濟行為。

今年的全國人大會議共持續10天，3月5日上午舉行開幕會，並聽取李克強關於政府工作報告、預算報告等。3月15日上午舉行第四次全體會議，表決各項工作報告的決議草案，表決《中華人民共和國外商投資法（草案）》。閉幕後，李克強將舉行記者會。

新華社/英國國際戰略研究所

Translation

China’s military spending was expected to exceed 1.4 trillion – increased every year since Xi was in power

The National People's Congress was held today. At the press conference yesterday, when the NPC spokesperson was asked the "must answer question" regarding China's military spending, he again avoided making known China's military budget. China’s military budget has risen rapidly since Xi's inauguration, and it has surpassed RMB 1 trillion in 2017. It is expected that this figure will approach 1.2 trillion yuan (about 1.4 trillion Hong Kong dollars) in 2019.

The press conference was held one day before the opening of the National People's Congress and is an important window for the outside world to observe the NPC. It mainly introduces the agenda of the meeting and related arrangements, and answers questions from reporters. Since China’s military spending had exceeded 1 trillion yuan in 2017; in order to prevent outside fears, no matter whether it is the NPC press conference or the premier Li Keqiang’s government work report, no specific figures on military spending were mentioned. In 2018, the spokesman of the National People's Congress, Zhang Yesui, did not disclose the increase in China's military spending as a practice. This year, in response to a Bloomberg reporter's question about China's defense budget, Zhang still cared about and avoided telling specific figures and increases. Zhang only said that, from a vertical perspective, since 2016, China’s defense spending had decreased from double digits for five consecutive years to a single digit. In horizontal comparison, China’s defense spending as a percentage of GDP in 2000 was about 1.3%, while the proportion of defense spending in some major developed countries accounted for over 2% of GDP. Zhang stressed that China's limited defense spending was solely for the purpose of safeguarding the country's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and would not pose a threat to other countries.

Since taking office in 2012, Xi Jinping has vigorously promoted the "military reform" to increase the system changes. Under the strong military policy, the military expenditures in the first three years have been growing at double-digit levels. After the implementation of a policy of disarmament of 300,000 in 2015, the increase in military spending has dropped to single digit level. However, in recent years, with the PLA gradually strengthening its construction of the navy and air force, together with the deepened disputes along border areas and in sea areas, an increase in military spending is likely to rise again.

The 2018 National Military Ranking on military spending published by the UK Institute for International Strategic Studies shows that the United States is far ahead of the rest of the world with $643 billion (about 5.04 trillion Hong Kong dollars), while China is second in the world with $168.2 billion (about 1.32 trillion Hong Kong dollars), followed by Saudi Arabia, Russia, and India closely behind. The US defense budget for 2019 will reach $716 billion (about 5.62 trillion Hong Kong dollars).

In addition to the external military expenses, the CCP’s internal public security expenditures are also worthy of attention. In 2018, China's peacekeeping costs were nearly 1.26 trillion yuan (about 1.47 trillion Hong Kong dollars), and it is expected to grow again this year. As the issue of Huawei's espionage is rampant, the “National Intelligence Law” passed in 2017 is also mentioned. Article 7 of the Act requires any organization and citizen in China to "support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence work according to law." Zhang Yesui said that the law is mainly to safeguard China's national security and interests and would not infringe on the security interests of other countries. He criticized the United States for taking up the "National Intelligence Law" issue to generate stories, rendering the so-called security risks of certain Chinese companies' products, and interfering with economic behaviors by political means.

This year's National People's Congress would be held for a total of 10 days, it starts with an opening meeting in the morning of March 5 to listen to Li Keqiang's report on government work and budget reports. The fourth plenary meeting would be held in the morning of March 15 to vote on the draft resolutions of various work reports and also to vote on the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft). After the closing ceremony, Li Keqiang will hold a press conference.

Xinhua News Agency / UK Institute for International Strategy

Comments
     This article has summarized the present outlook of China in terms of military spending and in internal security maintenance. It shows that although China is already a big spender on homeland security, it still has much to worry in its social stability.

U.S. Navy F35C gained the initial operation capability - deployment for actual fighting made possible

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

米海軍のＦ３５Ｃ、初期作戦能力を獲得　実戦配備可能に

2019.03.01 Fri posted at 11:53 JST

             The F35 Family               (Source:CNN)

  ワシントン（ＣＮＮ） 米海軍は２月２８日、海軍仕様の最新鋭ステルス戦闘機「Ｆ３５Ｃ」が初期作戦能力（ＩＯＣ）を獲得したと発表した。２０年以上にわたる試験と開発の末、実戦配備が可能になった。

今回の発表の前には、Ｆ３５Ｃで構成される初の飛行隊が、空母「カールビンソン」の艦上で着艦資格取得訓練を完了していた。

海軍航空部隊の司令官は「Ｆ３５Ｃは作戦、戦闘、勝利への用意が整った」と宣言。「我々は空母打撃軍に素晴らしい兵器システムを加え、統合軍の能力を大幅に向上させつつある」と述べた。

ＩＯＣの獲得はＦ３５Ｃの主契約社である米ロッキード・マーチンにとっても大きな節目となる。

ロッキード・マーチンのＦ３５プログラム責任者、グレッグ・ウルマー副社長は海軍に祝意を示したうえで、「政府と産業界が一体となったチームによる揺るぎない献身の成果だ」と説明した。

Ｆ３５は高い攻撃力を備えた多用途機で、ロッキード社によると、ステルス能力と超音速性能、極めて優れた機動性、最新のセンサー融合技術を併せ持つ。

ただ、近年はソフトウエアやエンジン、兵器システムの問題など相次ぐ逆風に見舞われ、厳しい批判にさらされてきた。

Ｆ３５Ｃは３種類あるＦ３５シリーズのひとつ。米海兵隊使用機は２０１５年７月、空軍使用機は１６年８月に実戦配備が可能になったと発表されていた。

Translation

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The US Navy announced on February 28 that the latest naval-specification stealth fighter "F35C" had acquired initial operation capability (IOC). After more than 20 years of testing and development, actual deployment became possible.

Prior to this announcement, the first squadron which composed of F35C had completed a drill on the aircraft carrier "Carl Vinson" to acquire the craft landing qualification.

Commander of the Navy Air Force declared that "F35C is ready for strategy, battle and victory". He said, "we are adding a wonderful weapon system to the aircraft carrier striking forces, and we are greatly improving the ability of an integrated army ".

The acquisition of IOC was also a major milestone for Lockheed Martin, the main contractor of F35C.

Greg Ulmer, Vice President of the F35 program in Lockheed Martin, said that he was congratulating the Navy and said, "it is the result of unwavering dedications by a team which the government and the industry have joined together to make one."

According to Lockheed, F35 was a versatile machine with high offensive power; it combined stealth ability cum supersonic performance, extremely excellent maneuverability, and the latest sensor integration technology.

However, in recent years it had suffered from setbacks in problems in software, engines, weapons system etc. and had been subjected to severe criticism.

F35C was one of the three types of F35 series. It was announced that for actual deployments the US Marine Corps using machine was made available in July 2015 while the Air Force using machine was in August 2016.

          Now with the testing on F35C being successfully completed, all US forces in air, land and sea would be using the new generation fighters.

Last year was the fourth hottest in history since world average temperature was observed - hot weather trend continued

Recently the NHK News On-line reported the following:

去年の世界平均気温 観測史上４番目の暑さ 温暖化傾向続く

2019年2月7日 6時59分

去年の世界の平均気温は観測史上４番目の高さだったとアメリカの政府機関が発表しました。上位５位までを去年までの５年間が占めていて、地球温暖化に歯止めがかかっていない現状が改めて示されました。

アメリカのＮＯＡＡ＝海洋大気局とＮＡＳＡ＝航空宇宙局は６日、去年、世界各地で観測された気温のデータの分析結果を発表しました。

それによりますと、去年の世界の平均気温は14.69度で、20世紀を通した平均気温と比べて0.79度高く、記録がある1880年以降で４番目の暑さとなりました。

これまでで最も暑かったのは2016年で、上位５位までを2014年から去年までの５年間が占め、温暖化に歯止めがかかっていないことが改めて示されました。

また、極端な気象現象による自然災害も相次ぎ、アメリカだけでも南部のハリケーンや西部カリフォルニア州の山火事など被害額が10億ドル、日本円にして1100億円を超える災害が14にのぼったということです。

トランプ大統領は「温暖化を信じない」と述べるなど対策に否定的ですが、データをまとめた研究者は「温暖化が起きていることは疑いようがない。これまでにない量の雨が降るなど、地域レベルで影響が出ている」と述べ、警鐘を鳴らしています。

また、例年、気温のデータは１月に発表されますが、政府機関が１か月余り閉鎖した影響で今月にずれこみ、思わぬ形で政治の影響を受けることになりました。

国連「温暖化対策 世界規模で加速を」

国連の報道官は記者会見でグテーレス事務総長の声明を読み上げ、「年間の平均気温が上がり続ける傾向を変えるには地球温暖化対策を世界規模で加速させなければならない」として、温室効果ガスの排出量を2030年までに、2010年と比べて45％削減する必要があると強調しています。

そのうえで声明は「事務総長はことし９月23日に地球温暖化対策サミットを主催する。そのねらいはパリ協定の目標達成に向けた国際社会の政治的な意志を高め、気温の上昇を抑えるための具体的な行動を促すことだ」としています。

国連が、温暖化のデータの発表に合わせて半年以上先となるサミットについて具体的に説明したのは地球温暖化対策が思うように進んでいないことに対するグテーレス事務総長の強い危機感の表れとみられます。

Translation

A US government agency announced that the average temperature in the world last year was the fourth highest in history since observation was made. The top 5 rankings were taken up by the 5 years ending up to last year; and it revealed that the current situation of global warming would not stop.

America's NOAA = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration together with NASA = the aerospace authority on the 6^th [February] announced the result of an analysis on temperature data observed globally last year.

According to it, the average temperature globally last year was 14.69 degrees, 0.79 degrees higher than the average temperature in the 20th century and was the fourth hottest since 1880 when there was a record.

The hottest period so far was 2016; the top 5 rankings were from 2014 to last year, and it once again showed that global warming was not stopping.

In addition, natural disasters caused by extreme weather phenomena continued; in the United States alone, damages in the south due to hurricanes and wildfires in California in the west etc. were 1 billion dollars; it was said that there were 14 natural disasters in total costing over 110 billion yen in Japanese currency.

President Trump said that "I do not believe in global warming" and declined to take measures; researchers who were gathering data were sounding out warnings and said that "there is no doubt that global warming is occurring, there is an unprecedented amount of rain fall, there are influences at the regional level".

In addition, although data of the temperature should be announced in January each year, but due to the influence of the government agencies closure for over a month which was affected by politics unexpectedly, announcement was shifted to this month.

United Nations "to accelerate global warming measures on a global scale"

A spokesperson of the United Nations read out a statement of Secretary General Guterres at a press conference to say that "we must accelerate global warming countermeasures worldwide to change the trend of continuous rising in annual average temperature" and emphasized the need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emission by 45% by 2030 compared with 2010.

In addition, the statement said, "Secretary-General will host the Summit on Global Warming Countermeasures on September 23. The aim is to increase the political will of the international community towards achieving the goals of the Paris Convention, and to encourage concrete action of the people."

The United Nations, while in line with the announcement of global warming data, to concretely explain the summit in advance for over half a year had appeared to be a sign of a strong sense of crisis held by Secretary General Guterres who thought that global warming countermeasures were not proceeding as expected.

     It is interesting to note that there are still some global warning non-believers.