THURSDAY PDB – China continues its unprecedented military buildup while also expanding its defense ties with partners across the globe. Buildup resumed at suspected Chinese military site in UAE, leak says.
The activity has disturbed some U.S. officials, who worry a longstanding U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf is growing too close to Beijing.
PLUS – 2 Chinese navy ships head to Singapore for joint drills. China has dispatched a pair of warships to drill with Singapore's navy and join in a regional maritime security exhibition.
AND – China to ‘deepen and expand' military ties with Pakistan. The defense ministry makes the statement during the maiden visit of Pakistan army chief to Beijing.
BUT THE US IS ALSO BEEFING UP ITS MILITARY TIES WITH ALLIES – US, Filipino forces show firepower at sea amid China tension. American and Filipino forces sank a ship with a barrage of high-precision rockets, airstrikes, and artillery fire in their largest war drills on Wednesday in Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea.
AND – Biden to make historic visit to Papua New Guinea next month. He will briefly visit Papua New Guinea (PNG) on May 22, as Washington seeks to counter growing Chinese influence in the strategically important region.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
POLITICS
AGREE WITH ‘POCAHONTAS' ON THIS – Warren grills Pentagon lawyers on lobbying by former defense officials. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., grilled the lawyers over the “revolving door” between former Pentagon officials, military officers, lawmakers, and congressional staff going on to lobby for the defense industry.
Texas lawmakers introduce ‘Audit the Pentagon Act,' hope to incentivize government spending transparency. Texas Representative Michael Burgess introduced the Act to require any component of the Defense Department to pass an annual audit.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
GOOD – Army not tweaking fitness test after uncertainty over gender standards. The Army is unlikely to change its new physical fitness test despite Congress recently passing a law pressing the service to establish gender-neutral standards.
NATIONAL SECURITY
America beefs up potential response as threat of Russian nukes loom. In late February, four Boeing B-52H strategic bombers from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, based at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived for deployment to the Moron Air Base in Spain to undertake ‘Bomber Task Force' missions.
ABSOLUTELY – Experts: Military must train to fight through communications breakdown. America's adversaries will likely target the communications abilities vital to multi-domain operations in a future war, and commanders must be ready to operate during such disruptions.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Pentagon leak suspect may still have access to classified info. Justice Department filings also allege that Jack Teixeira took steps to obstruct the government's investigation.
No release for wife of Coast Guard vet in stolen identity case. A woman accused with her husband, a Coast Guard veteran, of living in Hawaii under stolen identities of dead babies will remain behind bars pending trial.
CHINA THREAT
China approves wide-ranging expansion of counter-espionage law. Chinese authorities passed a wide-ranging update to Beijing's anti-espionage legislation on Wednesday, banning the transfer of any information related to national security and broadening the definition of spying.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
US confident in Ukraine offensive despite Russian military's formidable power. The commander of U.S. troops in Europe expressed confidence in an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive but said Russia remains a formidable military force that has grown since invading Ukraine last year.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 428. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an hour-long call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two discussed “possible cooperation to reach a fair and sustainable peace deal for Ukraine” but Zelenskyy stressed there can be “no peace at the expense of territorial compromises.”
DoD digs in: F-16s not a priority for Ukraine, despite Russian airpower. The Pentagon's top leaders for Europe reiterated to Congress that providing modern Western fighter jets like the F-16 to Ukraine is not an immediate priority.
Russia can fund war in Ukraine for another year despite sanctions. In previously unreported, leaked U.S. documents, senior Russian officials, intelligence agencies and oligarchs fret over sanctions — and work around them.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
US to dock nuclear subs in S Korea for 1st time in 40 years. The U.S. and S Korea have agreed to have U.S. nuclear-armed submarines dock in South Korea for the first time in more than 40 years, a conspicuous show of support to Seoul amid growing concern about nuclear threats by North Korea.
SPACE THREAT
Space Force eyes ‘outernet' for better data flow in orbit. Space Force wants to create a space-based “outernet” that would allow military satellites and networks to communicate more efficiently.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
NOT GOOD – With Marcos watching, US Army HIMARS fires 6 times but misses target in South China Sea. The Philippines' president observed as one of the U.S. Army's best-known weapons missed its target — a decommissioned warship floating miles away in the South China Sea.
US MILITARY
A ‘violent storm' of elephants: Stratotankers (flying gas stations) strut their stuff during MacDill AFB exercise. The ‘elephants' went on parade Wednesday at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
The Navy wants to sell off its troubled littoral combat ships to allies after just a few years in service. The service wants to kiss a half-dozen ‘little crappy ships' goodbye in the coming years.
US Army evaluating radios for both Indo-Pacific and Europe. It is assessing its future distribution of radios and related gear that provide vital links to far-flung soldiers in both the Indo-Pacific and Europe.
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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