Sunday, May 22, 2016
Russia to Respond to New Configuration of NATO Forces
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Russia will take the new configuration of NATO forces into account and will address the new security risks arising from the changing situation, Russia's envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said.
"If we talk of today, I can only repeat that there should be a qualitative review of relations with Russia within NATO, a refusal to attempt to contain it [Russia], attempts to project its military force onto us using constant rotations, endless drills, the creation of additional groups and the position of missile defense facilities along our borders, increasing the level of military activity in the Baltic Sea and in the Black Sea," Grushko told journalists on Friday.
The Russian envoy stressed that Russia will take into account NATO’s new military planning in Europe.
According to Grushko, "all servicemen, including those of NATO, understand very well that the new reality created by new NATO planning will be taken into account by us [Russia] and on our part all the necessary military-technical measures will be taken to limit the risks related to the new configuration of forces that has appeared on our borders."
Last week, the United States activated its Aegis ashore ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) in Romania and broke ground on another Aegis ashore site in Poland.
Prior to the activation of the site in Romania, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that Russia reserves the right to respond to the deployment with adequate military-technical measures.
NATO has been increasing its presence in Eastern Europe since Crimea rejoined Russia in March 2014 following a referendum the West refused to recognize as legitimate, instead blaming Moscow for violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia has denied the allegations and has repeatedly stated that the bloc's increased activities near its borders undermine regional and international stability.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20160521/1040008086/russia-respond-nato-configuration.html#ixzz49GJMs6pW
Saturday, May 21, 2016
NATO assembles its biggest military build-up since the Cold War
NATO foreign ministers have been finalising the alliance's biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War in the face of a more aggressive and unpredictable Russia.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the two-day meeting, which began yesterday, would address 'all the important issues' to prepare for a 'landmark' summit in Poland in July.
NATO leaders will endorse plans to puts more troops into eastern European member states as part of a 'deter and dialogue' strategy.
Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria have all been meant to reassure allies they will not be left in the lurch in any repeat of the Ukraine crisis.
'We will discuss how NATO can do more to project stability... and at the same time address how NATO can continue to adapt to a more assertive Russia to find the right balance between defence and dialogue,' Stoltenberg told reporters.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, attending the Brussels talks, said NATO was building a 'robust' defensive posture on its eastern flank and urged member states to meet pledges to increase defence spending.
The alliance needs to 'continue to strengthen our deterrence capabilities through a more robust forward presence,' he said.
'NATO is open to a political dialogue with Russia but we will refrain from business as usual until the Minsk commitments are fully implemented,' Kerry added.
Under the Minsk process, Moscow agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine and to halt support for separatist pro-Russian rebels that have carved out an enclave in the east of the country.
Stoltenberg told a later press conference that the alliance's AWACS monitoring aircraft could be flown over 'NATO territory and international airspace' to help the fight against ISIS.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3600442/NATO-assembles-biggest-military-build-Cold-War-troops-deployed-eastern-Europe-deter-Russia.html#ixzz49GDvG0RR
Friday, May 20, 2016
China Demands US "Cease Immediately" Provocative Spy Plane Missions Near Its Borders
Just days after a report that two Chinese J-11 fighter jets buzzed a US spy plane above the South China Sea, Beijing has officially escalated its displeasure at US surveillance up the chain of command and as Reuters reports, Beijing has demanded an end to all U.S. surveillance near China.
As a reminder, a U.S. Defense official said two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew within 50 feet (15 meters) of the U.S. EP-3 aircraft in what the Pentagon deemed an "unsafe" intercept. And, just like Russia, China has had enough and demands US provocations end.
Stock footage of a Chinese J-11 fighter
"It must be pointed out that U.S. military planes frequently carry out reconnaissance in Chinese coastal waters, seriously endangering Chinese maritime security," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei Hong told reporters, adding that "we demand that the United States immediately cease this type of close reconnaissance activity to avoid having this sort of incident happening again."
Speaking at a regular press briefing, he described the Pentagon statement as "not true" and said the actions of the Chinese aircraft were "completely in keeping with safety and professional standards." "They maintained safe behavior and did not engage in any dangerous action," Hong said.
The encounter comes a week after China scrambled fighter jets as a U.S. Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea. Another Chinese intercept took place in 2014 when a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around a U.S. spy plane.
We are confident Russia will echo China's concerns. As we summarized earlier this week, in just the past month there have been at least four close fly-bys involved Russian fighter jets following close US incursions:
First a Russian Su-24 "buzzed" the US missile destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea allegedly over Russian territorial waters; then just days later another Russian fighter jet flew within 50 feet of a US recon plane also flying over the Baltic Sea; this was followed by a third close encounter when a little over a week later a Russian Mig-31s flew within 50 feet of a US spy plane flying over a Russian naval base in the Kamchatka peninsula; the fourth provocation took place just days later when as a Russian SU-27 conducted a barrel roll over a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane flying over the Baltic sea.
The Chinese intercept occurred days before President Barack Obama travels to parts of Asia from May 21-28, including a Group of Seven summit in Japan and his first trip to Vietnam.
Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands, while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased U.S. naval patrols and exercises in Asia. In 2015, the United States and China announced agreements on a military hotline and rules of behavior to govern air-to-air encounters called the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES).
"This is exactly the type of irresponsible and dangerous intercepts that the air-to-air annex to CUES is supposed to prevent," said Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.
China has fired back that there would be no need for the "irresponsible" intercepts if the US did not launch recon missions in the first place.
However Poling pressed on and said that either some part of China's air force "hadn't gotten the message," or it was meant as a signal of displeasure with recent U.S. freedom of navigation actions in the South China Sea. "If the latter, it would be very disappointing to find China sacrificing the CUES annex for political gamesmanship."
Zhang Baohui, a security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said he believed the encounter highlighted the limitation of CUES, and shows that Chinese pilots would still fly close to U.S. surveillance planes if needed. "Frankly, we're always going to see these kinds of incidents as China will always put the priority on national security over something like CUES whenever it feels its interests are directly threatened," he said.
The latest encounter took place in international airspace about 100 nautical miles south of mainland China and about 50 nautical miles east of Hainan island, a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement issued later on Thursday.
Why is the US spying on Hainan? Because China's submarine bases on Hainan are home to an expanding fleet of nuclear-armed submarines and a big target for on-going Western surveillance operations. The Guangdong coast is also believed to be home to some of China's most advanced missiles, including the DF-21D anti-ship weapon.
And that is why US espionage in the region will continue, even as the Pentagon tries to put the blame on Beijing for any and all such future "close encounters" until eventually there is an "unexpected" incident.
CRedit to Zero Hedge
IDF Unveils ‘Iron Dome of the Seas’
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their due reward from Me, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17 (The Israel Bible™)
The IDF’s Iron Dome of the sea. (Photo Video screenshot)
The IDF offered a glimpse on Wednesday of the so-called “Iron Dome of the Seas” – a new maritime missile-defense system modeled after the highly successful Iron Dome, which has intercepted thousands of rockets fired at Israel by Hamas from the Gaza Strip in recent years.
The new missile-defense system, called Tamir Adir, conducted a successful interception at sea, the IDF announced on Wednesday. The incredible footage released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit shows the defense system mounted on an Israel Navy vessel, targeting an incoming missile and blasting it out of the sky.
The Tamir Adir, which literally means “hidden and mighty,” fires a targeted Tamir interception missile, just like the Iron Dome.
The “Iron Dome of the Seas” joins Israel’s “underground Iron Dome” – still in development – designed to counter the threat of Hamas terror tunnels infiltrating Israel from Gaza.
Credit to Breaking Israel News
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/67977/watch-idf-unveils-iron-dome-of-the-seas-05-16/#CowOFL6JXjdRgAdz.99
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