MONDAY PDB – The question behind Zelenskyy's visit: Are Europe and Asia converging? The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia's top defense summit, but since 2022, it's become more European as officials from the continent see Russia's war as an omen.
“Europe has woken up [to] the fact that despite the great geographical distance of the Taiwan Strait to Europe, that the impact [of a war] on Europe's economy would be enormous,” said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the German Marshall Fund.
Japan, Australia and South Korea are among the countries that have supported Ukraine during the war, whether through aid, sanctions or equipment. Taiwan sees Russia's invasion as a potential harbinger of a potential attack from China, which considers the island a rogue breakaway province. (RELATED: Pentagon Rushing To Arm Taiwan As Likely China Attack Looms)
Countries such as the Netherlands and Germany have temporarily deployed ships to the Indo-Pacific, with a Dutch frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait just before the conference began. Britain also has a more enduring commitment to the region now as part of the AUKUS defense pact, an agreement with the U.S. on nuclear-powered submarines and advanced technology.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
D-DAY 80th ANNIVERSARY
D-Day at 80: Enthusiastic welcome for US veterans as they arrive in France for D-Day remembrance. After a roaring sendoff from enthusiastic well-wishers, World War II veterans flew Saturday to Paris to pay homage to the thousands of fellow Americans who perished in the fight to liberate Europe from Nazism.
NATIONAL SECURITY
How the North Korea-Russia alliance could damage Biden in 2024. An intensifying military alliance between Russia and North Korea could spell trouble for Biden in November.
HOMELAND SECURITY
First Texas National Guard troops move into new Eagle Pass base. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday welcomed the first group of Texas National Guard troops to move into a new 80-acre base being built here as part of the state's $11 billion border security initiative.
Florida sheriff's office fires deputy who fatally shot senior airman. A Florida Panhandle sheriff on Friday fired a deputy who fatally shot an airman at his home while holding a handgun pointed to the ground, saying the deputy's life was never in danger and he should not have fired his weapon.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
WHY? WE NEED UNITY NOT DIVERSITY – Soldier honors Native American heritage after religious accommodation. An Army major is celebrating one year of having earned approval to wear his hair and tribe-specific regalia items in a way that honors his Native American heritage during appropriate service ceremonies.
POLITICS
America's veterans need a second term of President Trump. I had the pleasure of serving in the United States Navy for 26 years, eventually retiring as a Navy SEAL senior chief with multiple combat deployments. Now, I'm a member of the House of Representatives.
UNBELIEVABLE – Retired Navy four-star admiral arrested in bribery scheme. A former vice chief of naval operations faces up to 30 years in prison along with two business executives on criminal charges involving a government contract bribery scheme while in uniform.
UGH – Trump joins TikTok, the app he once tried to ban. Trump hasn't always been a TikTok supporter. During his presidency, he tried to ban the app in the U.S. market over national security concerns — an effort eventually blocked in the federal courts.
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST TERROR
HAMAS CANNOT BE IN CHARGE – Israel seeks a ‘governing alternative' to Hamas in Gaza — it's been tried and failed before. Proposing a future beyond Hamas but giving no idea who those challengers might be. (RELATED: Iranian Regime Thanks US College Students For Supporting Hamas)
US POWER OVERSEAS
US, Singapore to work together on counter-drone, electronic warfare tech. The U.S. and Singapore have agreed to collaborate more closely on defense innovation as part of a broader effort by the Pentagon to pair the American defense industry with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Marines prep for multinational live-fire drills near Australia's northeastern coast. Four hundred U.S. Marines are in Australia. This, as Aussie sailors help crew a Navy submarine tender that recently arrived Down Under.
US military works to deepen partnerships in African Lion exercise. Over the past two weeks, roughly 8,100 military forces from nearly three dozen countries maneuvered throughout Tunisia, Ghana, Senegal and Morocco as part of the war games held this year as militaries confront new challenges in increasingly volatile regions.
Eisenhower carrier strike group deployment extended for at least another month.
GREAT – Man gets nearly half-century sentence (49 years) for abduction of US soldiers in Bogota. The Colombian orchestrated the kidnapping and assault of two U.S. soldiers on assignment in 2020.
IRAN THREAT
What's with Joe Biden's love of Tehran — and why isn't it prompting an IranGate fury? With all the troubling news about Biden and his team's inexplicable support for Iran, you'd surely expect media outlets to be screaming “Iran, Iran, Iran” — just as they harped on “Russia, Russia, Russia” in reporting on Donald Trump. Nope: It's been crickets.
CHINA THREAT
Chinese defense head warns of ‘self-destruction' for Taiwan supporters. This, after meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the first time.
ONLY MISCALCULATION IS NOT BEING STRONG ENOUGH TO WIN – US defense secretary says war with China ‘neither imminent nor unavoidable,' stressing need for talks. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed the importance of renewed dialogue between him and his Chinese counterpart in avoiding “miscalculations and misunderstandings.”
Marcos sets ‘red line' with Beijing over South China Sea harassment. While addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Southeast Asia, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set near black-and-white criteria on what would count as an act of war by China.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
BIDEN'S ‘NARROW PATH' IS PROLONGING THE WAR AND INVITING DEFEAT – Ukraine can strike military targets inside Russia. But carefully. Biden has finally agreed to Ukraine's request to use U.S.-supplied weaponry to strike selected military targets inside Russia's borders. But Biden must walk a narrow path. (RELATED: Putin Threatens To Expand Into NATO's Baltic Sea ‘Lake')
Basic training in Ukraine is barely covering the basics, commanders say. Ukrainian commanders in the field say they are bracing for most of the new troops under a new conscription law to arrive with poor training.
Russian advance on Kharkiv has ‘slowed a bit,' US defense chief says. Just weeks after Russian forces broke through the front lines near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, the offensive has started to steady.
Energy shutdowns hit Ukraine after Russian attacks target infrastructure. This, a day after Russia unleashed large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure and claimed it made gains in the eastern Donetsk province.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
South Korea to suspend 2018 military pact with North over trash balloons. This, after Seoul warned of a strong response to balloons launched by Pyongyang carrying trash to the South.
SPACE THREAT
Boeing forced to call off its first launch with NASA astronauts once again. The launch attempt was scrubbed with only minutes to go in the countdown.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
NATO troops perform biggest jump since WWII. NATO nations took to the skies for a show of force in what officials said was the biggest jump since WWII.
US MILITARY
A lighter, high-tech Abrams tank is taking shape. The new tank variant is expected to be lighter and feature high-tech capabilities so it's more survivable in battle.
Marine wargaming center, allowing high-tech prep for war, unveiled at Quantico. Retired Gen. Robert Neller ordered the creation of a “secure, centralized” Marine Corps wargaming center in 2017.
Tech that can create targeting info in a GPS-denied environment. Meet Thales' new imager that combines a range of sensors to allow troops to spot enemies in the field and generate targeting information in a GPS-denied area.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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