China's mission to achieve a first-ever docking exercise in space, part of plans to build its own space station, was “a complete success”, said officials on Thursday as the unmanned Shenzhou-8 aircraft returned to Earth following a more than month-long docking exercise.
As the spacecraft landed in the Gobi desert in the northern Inner Mongolia region by parachute, Chinese officials hailed its return as marking the completion of a key first step for China's space station ambitions.
Shenzhou-8 rendezvoused and docked with the Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace”, space laboratory module. China is now only the third nation, after the United States and Russia, to achieve a docking in space, though it trails both nations, which completed this feat more than three decades ago.

THREE MORE SPACECRAFT

Following Shenzhou-8's success, China will launch three more spacecraft next year, with at least one of them a manned mission.
The successful docking, Chinese officials said, would pave the way for China's launching of its own manned space station by 2020. That is the same year the International Space Station (ISS) is brought down — a coincidence of events seen by analysts as reflecting China's resurgence and the West's decline in space programmes.

COOPERATION

The state-run Xinhua news agency pointed out in a recent commentary that China “has been denied access to the ISS for two decades,” but struck a conciliatory note, saying China had invited Germany to conduct experiments with Tiangong-1 — “the first instance of international cooperation since the beginning of China's manned space programme.”
China's own space station, Xinhua said, would “offer more opportunity for collaboration among nations, with room for international experiments and possibly space for foreign astronauts”.
“The concept of a ‘space race' is now obsolete,” the commentary added. “International cooperation is the future trend and rivalry between so-called space powers will inevitably give way to more friendly cooperation.”

China calls for dialogue on India's NSG entry

Different parties had “concerns” over India's possible entry into the 46-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) cartel, China said on Thursday in the wake of Australia's moves towards reversing a ban on exporting uranium to India.
Even as China prepares to go ahead with civilian nuclear cooperation with Pakistan in likely contravention of the trade cartel's guidelines, it has called for consultations with “all states” before any moves are made to expand the NSG to include India.
“Different parties have their own concerns” about India's accession to the NSG, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin, to a question about Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard voicing support to reversing the ban on Uranium exports to India.
China has, in the past, taken the view that India not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should restrict its access to nuclear commerce, and exceptions should not be made for a non-NPT country to join the NSG — and the mainstream of nuclear trade.
But following the waiver granted by the NSG to India's civilian nuclear cooperation with the U.S. and India's subsequent entry into global nuclear commerce, China has increasingly begun to support the case of another non-NPT country — Pakistan — to boost its own civilian nuclear energy industry.
China's deals to set up two reactors in Pakistan, agreed to in 2009, caused controversy as China did not seek a waiver from the NSG, and went ahead with the deal in violation of the group's guidelines that bar the sale or transfer of nuclear technology to non-NPT countries.
India's deal with the U.S. went ahead after more than three years of difficult negotiations, and after New Delhi agreed to take on a range of commitments.
Mr. Liu said China supported the right of every country to make peaceful use of nuclear energy, but also called on countries to abide by “international obligations and nuclear non-proliferation.”
On expanding the NSG, he said: “We are still under discussion in this regard and we hope relevant parties will continue with the discussions.” “China,” he added, “believes that expansion of NSG should be able to maintain authority and effectiveness of the group and take into full consideration the actual condition of candidate countries, and a final decision should be made through consultation with all States.”

Suu Kyi party to register for elections


Myanmar’s main opposition party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi decided Friday to register for future elections, signalling its confidence in recent political reforms by the military-aligned government.
The National League for Democracy party “has unanimously decided to re-register as a political party ... and will run in the elections,” said a party statement issued at the end of a meeting of senior members from all across the country.
Earlier, member after member, including Ms. Suu Kyi, spoke out in favour of joining the political arena because of a series of reforms initiated by the nominally civilian, but military-aligned government, which have met cautious approval of even its most bitter critic, the United States.
The NLD refused to register last year because of a restriction that would have prevented Ms. Suu Kyi from running. The restriction was lifted this year by the government that took office following the November 2010 elections held by a long-ruling military junta as part of its promise to restore democracy and relinquish power.
“Personally I am for re-registration,” Ms. Suu Kyi said in her speech to the delegates, gathered at the party headquarters in Yangon.
Any party that registers itself is required to run for at least three seats in the still unscheduled by-elections for the 48 vacant seats in Parliament. The legislature comprises 224 members in the upper house and 440 members in the lower house.
“Instead of participating in three seats in the by-elections, I would prefer to take part in all 48 seats,” Ms. Suu Kyi said. When that happens, it would be the first electoral test of NLD’s popularity and that of Ms. Suu Kyi in more than two decades. It is likely that she would run.

India re-elected to U.N.’s International Law Commission

India was today re-elected to the International Law Commission for a five year term beginning January 1, 2012.
U.N. General Assembly re-elected India’s Narinder Singh as a member of the Commission.
A member of the ILC since 2007, Singh is currently legal adviser and Head of the Legal and Treaties Division of Ministry of External Affairs.
He has served as coordinator of the meeting of legal advisers of foreign offices of the U.N. member states since 2002.
Over the past two decades, Singh has represented India in a number of key conferences on international law and has been a regular participant in the work of the Sixth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly that deals with legal affairs.
ILC consists of 34 members who must be experts on international law. They are elected by the General Assembly from a list of candidates nominated by governments of member states in the U.N.
The other candidates elected from the Asia-Pacific Group come from Japan, China, Jordan, Korea, Indonesia, Qatar and Thailand.
The Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1948 for the “promotion of the progressive development of international law and its codification.”