News Story: India-based Solar Industries Eyes International Ammunition Market

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's major private sector ammunition manufacturer wants to increase its footprint in the African ammunition market and is considering setting up bulk explosives factories in Australia and Indonesia, according to Nilesh Panpaliya, the chief financial officer of Nagpur-based Solar Industries. 

Solar Industries currently operates explosives plants in Nigeria, Zambia and Turkey. 

"The company is planning to enhance its international footprint through a plant in South Africa," Panpaliya said. "South Africa is the largest mining country in Africa which gives us a very good opportunity, especially when companies are looking to reduce their costs by having a competitive supplier." 

Solar Industries is also "evaluating Australia and Indonesia" and would finalize plans there this year, the CFO said. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story": Zimbabwe's Mugabe supports China's stance on South China Sea issue - official

HARARE, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday told visiting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming that Zimbabwe backed China on the South China Sea issue.

"President Mugabe has made it clear that he supports the position of the Chinese side on the South China Sea," Zhang told reporters after the meeting.

He said Zimbabwe is also firmly supporting China in settling the dispute through bilateral talks and peaceful negotiations.

Since 2013, the Philippines has been headstrong in bringing its maritime dispute with China to an international tribunal. It filed a compulsory arbitration against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague with respect to the two sides' dispute.

China maintains that the tribunal handling of the arbitration proceedings has no jurisdiction over the case, which is in essence about territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation.

Read the full story at Xinhua

Editorial: Zimbabwe - China’s ‘All-Weather’ Friend in Africa

By Samuel Ramani

While many worry about China’s economy, Zimbabwe adopts the yuan as its international currency.

China’s currency has certainly been in the news so far this year, but one milestone of sorts at the end of 2015 attracted relatively little attention. On December 22, Zimbabwe became the first foreign country to adopt the Chinese yuan as its primary international currency. Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry announced this decision after the Chinese government agreed to cancel $40 million in Zimbabwean debt. While critics of Beijing have described this move as neocolonial, Zimbabwean officials have insisted that the adoption of the yuan did not come from Chinese pressure but was instead the natural progression of Robert Mugabe’s “Look East” foreign policy strategy.

Zimbabwe’s isolation from Western markets due to its extreme economic volatility and Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian system has caused China to become its primary international ally in recent years. Chinese president Xi Jinping’s December 1 state visit to Harare reaffirmed China’s commitment to investing in Zimbabwe by announcing multi-billion dollar energy and infrastructure deals.

China’s close ties with Zimbabwe can be explained by historical legacies, normative convergences, and practical economic benefits. Zimbabwe was arguably China’s strongest African ally in the last years of the Cold War, an alliance that has consistently strengthened since 1991. China is also Mugabe’s leading international supporter against Western condemnations of his authoritarian policies. Beijing has also spearheaded economic recovery efforts in Zimbabwe to strengthen its leverage over the country and set a precedent for other alliance-building efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Read the full story at The Diplomat