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11 Sep 23. Nato is preparing its biggest live joint command exercise since the cold war next year, assembling more than 40,000 troops to practice how the alliance would attempt to repel Russian aggression against one of its members. The Steadfast Defender exercise comes as part of Nato’s rapid push to transform from crisis response to a war-fighting alliance, prompted by the invasion of Ukraine. It will start in spring next year and is expected to involve between 500 and 700 air combat missions, more than 50 ships, and about 41,000 troops, Nato officials said. It is designed to model potential manoeuvres against an enemy modelled on a coalition led by Russia, named Occasus for the purposes of the drill. The exercise is also a first in terms of technical capability, using real world geographical data to create more realistic scenarios for troops. Sweden, whose Nato bid is yet to be ratified by Turkey and Hungary, will also be included, bringing the total number of nations involved to 32. The drill will take place across Germany, Poland and the Baltics in February and March and forms part of a new training strategy that will see the military alliance carry out two big exercises every year, instead of one. Nato will also train to counter terrorist threats outside its immediate borders. Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, said in June last year that the alliance would increase its number of high-readiness forces from 40,000 to “well over 300,000”. It forms part of a historic overhaul to shift the alliance towards heavy military capabilities as opposed to the light and mobile forces deployed in the Balkans and Afghanistan. Following that statement, Nato leaders agreed at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in July to new regional defence plans and the creation of the so-called Allied Reaction Force, a multinational force able to respond rapidly to threats. Recommended News in-depthRomania Russia’s drone attacks on Ukraine rattle neighbouring Romania Baltic countries have been particularly vocal in calling for Nato to bolster its eastern flank as troops have built up on the Belarusian border. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said nuclear weapons would be moved into Belarus in early July, although their presence is unconfirmed. Nato has positioned multinational battalions in the Baltic States to slow up the progress of any aggressor in the event of an invasion. Germany said in June it would keep 4,000 troops in Lithuania permanently. Exercises are also seen as a key part of demonstrating to Moscow that the alliance is prepared to fight, Nato officials said. (Source: FT.com)
10 Sep 23. Myanmar receives first shipment of Russia’s Su-30 fighter jets, RIA reports. Myanmar has received the first shipment of two Russian Su-30 fighter jets, Charlie Than, Myanmar’s trade minister, told the Russian RIA state news agency in remarks published on Sunday.
“Two aircraft have already been delivered,” Than told RIA on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, Russia’s annual forum aimed at developing economic cooperation in the region and encouraging foreign investment, which starts on Sunday in the port of Vladivostok.
Russia and Myanmar signed a contract in September 2022 for the delivery of six Su-30SME fighter jets, RIA said.
The Sukhoi Su-30SME multi-role fighter jet is designed for enemy’s aerial targets engagement, aerial reconnaissance, combat employment and pilot training, according to Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter.
Separately, Than told the Russian TASS state news agency that a number of bilateral agreements will be signed at the East Economic Forum, including on developing tourism between the two countries.
The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The United States has warned that Russia’s backing for Myanmar’s military rulers is unacceptable and destabilising, with its supply of weapons helping to fuel a conflict that has become a catastrophe for the country.
Russia’s defence minister and top diplomat have visited Myanmar, while junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been to Russia several times since 2021 and was given an honorary doctorate. (Source: Reuters)
11 Sep 23. US, Vietnam firms hold business summit during Biden visit; AI deals unveiled. Executives at top U.S. and Vietnamese firms in the semiconductor, tech and aviation sectors are meeting on Monday as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Hanoi, seeking to forge business partnerships with new deals in AI unveiled.
Senior executives from Google (GOOGL.O), Intel (INTC.O), Amkor (AMKR.O), Marvell (MRVL.O), GlobalFoundries (GFS.O) and Boeing (BA.N) are attending the Vietnam-U.S. Innovation & Investment Summit, according to a draft agenda that confirms a Reuters report.
From Vietnam, there are executives from half a dozen companies, including Nasdaq-listed electric car maker VinFast , flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (HVN.HM), tech company FPT (FPT.HM), MoMo, the country’s biggest e-wallet by users, as well as internet firm VNG, which filed in August for a U.S. IPO.
The meeting, which follows a historic upgrade of diplomatic relations agreed on Sunday, underscores U.S. desire to boost Vietnam’s global role. This is particularly so in chipmaking with Washington seeking to reduce the sector’s exposure to China-linked risks, including trade friction and tensions over Taiwan.
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken and Vietnam’s investment minister Nguyen Chi Dzung are chairing the meeting, which will be followed by discussions with Biden and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to the agenda.
Newly unveiled deals by the White House include plans by Microsoft (MSFT.O) to make a “generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam and emerging markets.”
Nvidia (NVDA.O) will also partner with Vietnam’s FPT, Viettel and Vingroup (VIC.HM), VinFast’s parent company, on AI in the country, it said.
The White House also highlighted the number of chip-related investments by U.S. firms in Vietnam, including plans by Marvell and Synopsys (SNPS.O) to build chip design centres in the country.
A new $1.6 bn Amkor factory near Hanoi that will assemble, package and test chips is due to start operations in October, it added.
The investment value is on par with Intel’s $1.5 bn chip assembling plant in the south of the country – the company’s biggest worldwide. Sources said earlier this year that it may be expanded.
Vietnam Airlines will also purchase 50 Boeing 737 Max jets, the White House said, in an agreement that a source told Reuters was valued at about $7.5 bn.
U.S. conglomerate Honeywell (HON.O) will cooperate with a Vietnamese partner to launch a pilot project to develop Vietnam’s first battery energy storage system, the White House also said. (Source: Reuters)
08 Sep 23. Taiwanese Divided on US Military Sales Amid Growing Chinese Threats. The U.S. has renewed efforts to help Taiwan strengthen its defense capabilities in recent weeks, approving a series of m-dollar military sales to Taiwan and promising to resolve the $19 bn backlog of Taiwanese defense purchases from the U.S.
The latest moves received mixed responses from the Taiwanese government and the Taiwanese people. Taiwan’s Presidential Office characterized the latest U.S. transfer of weapons to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing mechanism as the fulfillment of Washington’s commitment to Taiwan’s security.
However, some Taiwanese people are suspicious about the timing and motives behind the latest announcement.
“While the Ukraine War makes me realize U.S. military sales to Taiwan are necessary, I don’t think the U.S. government respects the requests that Taiwan has made over the years,” Kai Wang, a 46-year-old woman working in the pharmaceutical industry, told VOA in a phone interview.
In her view, Taiwan rarely has the autonomy to decide what types of weapons it wants to purchase from the U.S. Rather, the deliverables often seem to have been “decided” for Taiwan, which deepens public suspicion toward the motivation behind U.S. military sales to Taiwan.
“There should be more public discussions about the Taiwanese government’s policies related to U.S. military sales,” Wang added.
Other Taiwanese citizens think there are often deeper political meanings behind U.S. military sales to Taiwan.
“If the U.S. intends to support Taiwan through these military sales, they should be conducted more discreetly, rather than publicly announcing these programs,” Peter Yang, a 36-year-old salesperson, told VOA in a phone interview.
Instead of continuing to acquire expensive military aircraft from the U.S., Yang thinks Taiwan needs more concrete international support and foreign investment.
“Receiving two fighter jets from the U.S. won’t suddenly turn Taiwan into a military power,” he said.
During a visit to Taiwan, Rob Wittman, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, promised to resolve the $19 bn dollar backlog of Taiwan’s defense purchases from the U.S. and reiterated that Washington would come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of a Chinese invasion.
“Know that any hostile unprovoked attack on Taiwan will result in a resolute reaction from the U.S.,” he said during a speech ahead of his meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Sep. 1.
Political leaning influences Taiwanese people’s views on U.S. military sales
Apart from the suspicion expressed by some Taiwanese people, several opinion polls in recent years also show contradicting views on U.S. military sales to Taiwan and Washington’s security commitment to the island among Taiwanese people.
According to American Portrait, a study of Taiwanese people’s perception of the U.S. released by Academia Sinica in January, 66.5% of the respondents support U.S. military sales to Taiwan. Additionally, more than 60% of Taiwanese people say when U.S. officials visit Taiwan or pledge to come to Taiwan’s defense publicly, their confidence in the U.S. military coming to Taiwan’s defense increases.
Some analysts say Taiwanese people’s political leaning is an important factor that influences their attitude toward U.S. security commitment. “Among the 66.5% of the public who support U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the percentage of supporters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is about three times that of supporters of the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT,)” Pan Hsin-Hsin, a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan and one of the authors of American Portrait, told VOA in a written response.
Data from the survey also shows that while a certain percentage of Taiwanese people think the U.S. is untrustworthy, they believe Washington’s security commitment to Taiwan is credible, Pan added.
Concerns about U.S. military sales turning Taiwan into a war zone
Another survey conducted by Global Views Monthly in 2021 found that 43.1% of respondents think U.S. military sales to Taiwan will further increase tension across the Taiwan Strait. Whereas 37.8% of the respondents think U.S. military sales to Taiwan can help maintain peace between China and Taiwan.
In recent years, China has increased its military aggression against Taiwan by constantly deploying military aircraft and naval vessels to areas near Taiwan and holding large-scale military exercises as responses to high-level engagement between Taiwan and foreign countries.
Some Taiwanese people told VOA that as the U.S. provides more offensive weapons for Taiwan through military sales, they believe it increases the risks of prompting a potential Chinese military attack on Taiwan.
“If the DPP government falls for Washington’s conspiracy and acquires more offensive weapons, it will prompt Beijing to launch an attack on Taiwan and a war would break out across the Taiwan Strait,” Denise Luo, a 56-year-old housewife, told VOA in a phone interview.
Instead of viewing U.S. military sales to Taiwan purely as an instigator of potential military conflicts across the Taiwan Strait, Albert Lin, a 47-year-old banker in Taiwan, thinks it’s important to consider it as part of Washington’s strategy to maintain the status quo across the Indo-Pacific region.
“I believe U.S. military sales to Taiwan is part of Washington’s strategy to maintain a balanced environment in the Indo-Pacific region,” he told VOA in a phone interview.
Despite the concerns expressed by some Taiwanese people, experts don’t think “American skepticism” will become a mainstream topic in Taiwan, especially as the island gears up for the presidential election scheduled for next January.
“The best to know that is by looking at what political parties are saying during presidential elections,” Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told VOA in a phone interview.
“Every Taiwanese presidential candidate just did or will do a big trip to the U.S., and from the electoral perspective, no presidential candidate will say anything that promotes American skepticism. They know the U.S.-Tawian relationship is Taiwan’s most important relationship,” he added.
(Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ Voice of America News)
08 Sep 23. North Korea: Nuclear-capable submarine will drive regional tensions despite limited capabilities. On 8 September, North Korean state media reported the on launch of the country’s first ‘tactical nuclear attack submarine’, which was attended by Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang claims the new submarine will significantly strengthen its nuclear deterrent, though the vessel’s actual operational capabilities are unknown, but likely to be limited. The submarine is a modified ageing Soviet-era model; it likely has a limited range and is vulnerable to modern anti-submarine warfare. Doubts remain about whether North Korea has successfully developed and tested missiles carrying a nuclear warhead. Nonetheless, the highly publicised submarine launch underlines Pyongyang’s determination to continue with its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, in defiance of international sanctions. Advances in military development coupled with rising rhetoric will sustain regional tensions, with the US and its allies set to maintain a hard-line posture towards the North Korean government. (Source: Sibylline)
08 Sep 23. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Increased EU patrols are unlikely to prevent escalation of border tensions. The EU’s civilian monitoring mission in Armenia (EUMA) announced on 7 September that it has increased patrolling activities in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border areas of Gegharkunik and Syunik provinces. EUMA has stepped up its monitoring of military developments amid particularly heightened tensions between the two governments. The mission stated that it aims to contribute towards the de-escalation of tensions and provide impartial reporting on the ground. The EUMA confirmed on 15 August that there had been gunfire in the area of one of its patrols along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Given the operation is classed as ‘civilian’, it is unlikely to prevent further cross-border provocations from escalating in the coming weeks. However, EUMA will likely remain one of the most credible sources for providing updates on tensions in the border regions, particularly as confidence in Russian peacekeepers continues to decline. (Source: Sibylline)
08 Sep 23. Why is North Korea growing its navy with submarines and nuclear drones? Over the past year North Korea has moved to boost its navy with new nuclear weapons, including an underwater drone, warships, and its first operational missile submarine, unveiled on Friday.
North Korea’s navy has historically been dwarfed by the country’s land forces, and overshadowed by its rapidly advancing ballistic missile program.
Now, leader Kim Jong Un has said the navy will play a key role in the country’s nuclear deterrence, and analysts say it may also assure support among naval commanders and boost national pride.
“Until quite recently, Kim has largely appeared to neglect naval nuclear programmes,” said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The recent refocus on naval nuclear capabilities has likely been welcomed by the Korean People’s Navy.”
Here is what we know about North Korea’s navy and its latest advancements.
HOW BIG IS NORTH KOREA’S NAVY?
The Korean People’s Army Naval Force (KPANF) has about 470 surface vessels, including guided missile ships, torpedo boats, small patrol vessels, and fire support boats, according to the South Korean military’s 2022 Defense White Paper.
Its has about 70 submarines, including Romeo-class vessels of Soviet-era design, and midget submarines.
The navy also has about 40 support craft and 250 landing craft.
The navy is divided into two fleet commands that cover the country’s east and west coasts, and about 60 percent of the force is positioned south of Pyongyang, the White Paper said.
“The North Korean Naval Force possesses the capacity to carry out a surprise attack any time,” the paper said. “However, its capacity for deep-sea operations is limited because its force is primarily consisted of small, high-speed vessels.”
WHAT ARE THE NAVY’S NEW WEAPONS?
In March and April North Korea tested what it said was a nuclear-capable unmanned underwater attack weapon.
Dubbed “Haeil”, or tsunami, the new drone system is intended to make sneak attacks in enemy waters and destroy naval strike groups and major operational ports with an underwater explosion, state media said.
Analysts said the weapon’s operational concept was similar to Russia’s Poseidon nuclear torpedoes, a new category of retaliatory weapon meant to create destructive, radioactive blasts in coastal areas.
However, a report by the Washington-based 38 North at the time said the weapon’s slow speed and limited range made it substantially inferior to the North’s existing nuclear-armed ballistic and cruise missiles in terms of time-to-target, accuracy and lethality.
In August, Kim inspected a new Amnok-class corvette, a patrol ship that state media said was capable of firing nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
“Despite the fact that the majority of the weapons and sensors on board are severely obsolete in comparison with western or Asian designs, it is a major step forward for North Korea,” the specialist website Naval News said in an analysis, calling its nuclear cruise missile capability a “game changer” for potential adversaries.
On Friday, North Korea said it had launched its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine” and assigned it to the eastern fleet.
The vessel appears to be a modified Romeo-class submarine with 10 launch tubes, most likely armed with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
South Korean officials said it appears that the new submarine may not be fully functional, but they did not elaborate.
Like the nuclear drone, its use in a war may be limited compared with North Korea’s more robust land-based missiles, analysts said.
“Their submarines just aren’t going to be able to be as survivable as their land-based forces,” said Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who works with 38 North. “And they’ll have a hard time deploying enough missiles at sea to make a big difference.” (Source: Reuters)
07 Sep 23. DOD Official Says AUKUS Partnership Strengthens Indo-Pacific Security. The 2022 National Defense Strategy describes China as the most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades, highlights Indo-Pacific security and stability and underscores the importance of new and fast-evolving technologies to meet the shifting global security environment.
AUKUS, the enhanced trilateral security partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is a critical part of how those goals will be achieved, said Mara Karlin. Performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, she testified today at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
In September 2021, leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the creation of AUKUS.
Under this partnership, Australia has demonstrated a commitment to purchasing conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines, she said.
“The United States, United Kingdom and Australia have committed to conducting naval nuclear propulsion cooperation in a manner that is fully consistent with our respective legal obligations, and that sets the highest nonproliferation standard. We are moving out swiftly,” Karlin said.
This year, three Australian officers have graduated from U.S. nuclear power school and the USS North Carolina, a Virginia-class attack submarine, conducted the first port visit to Australia, she noted.
The U.S. and Australia are also enhancing cooperation on other critical military capabilities.
“In April, under the auspices of the Artificial Intelligence Working Group, we trilaterally demonstrated the joint deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled assets in a collaborative swarm to detect and track military targets in real time,” Karlin said.
Karlin noted that the trilateral partnership isn’t only about defense. The State and Commerce departments are also integral to the trilateral relationship, as is the support of Congress.
There are several areas which require congressional legislation, she said, including authorization to sell Virginia-class submarines to Australia as an interim capability, training Australia’s submarine workforce and enabling export licensing exemptions.
“We cannot implement AUKUS without your critical support in all of these areas,” she said.
The U.S. needs to expand defense cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region even more, she said. “The U.S. network of alliances and partnerships is a strategic advantage that competitors cannot match.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
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