China Secretly Arming Russia As Two Superpowers Deepen Ties

MONDAY PDB – China secretly sends enough gear to Russia to equip an army. The pictures posted on the Chinese company's website show a tall, Caucasian man with a crew cut and flattened nose inspecting body armor at its factory. He is most likely Russian.

His order? Hundreds of thousands of armored military protective vests and helmets.

Russia has also imported more than $100 million-worth of drones from China so far this year. Most of the gear is ‘dual use,' and not actually weapons, yet.

STILL – “What is very clear is that China, for all its claims that it is a neutral actor, is in fact supporting Russia's positions in this war,” said a lead analyst specializing in Chinese defense and foreign policy at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.

MEANWHILE – China, Russia conclude drills as US, South Korea, Japan deepen security ties. China and Russia on Sunday wrapped up an air and naval exercise in the Sea of Japan aimed at “safeguarding” the security of waterways, the Chinese defense ministry said. (RELATED: Why Biden Justice Department Indicted Biden ‘Whistleblower' As A China Agent)

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:

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

BIRTH CONTROL, YES – NOT TAXPAYER-FUNDED ABORTION TRAVEL – Expanding birth control access for veterans and military families. Congress can advance no-cost sharing for birth control for the members and families of our military.

NATIONAL SECURITY

BUT HOW MUCH OF THOSE ROOTS ARE STILL HERE – Judeo-Christian roots will ensure US military AI is used ethically, Air Force general says. Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore Jr. made the comment at a Hudson Institute event Thursday while answering a question about how the Pentagon views autonomous warfare.

STILL, EUROPE SHOULD TAKE THE LEAD – Why the US still needs ground forces in Europe. Moscow's setbacks notwithstanding, refocusing on China would be a mistake.

CHINA THREAT

China sends dozens of fighter jets, bombers toward Taiwan. Taiwan is due to hold its annual Han Kuang exercise next week, during which its military will hold combat readiness drills for preventing an invasion.

China's hack of Microsoft exposing government emails could have accessed other types of files: researchers. Chinese-backed hackers accessed the email accounts of multiple government employees, putting information at risk.

(Re)assessing the near-term Chinese carrier threat in a Taiwan scenario. This op-ed looks deeply at the question of how China may use its aircraft carriers in a Taiwan invasion.

Navy secretary says multinational exercise sends message to China. He said Friday that the major multinational military training exercise launched in Australia sends a message to China that America's allies are cooperating to defend their security and democratic values.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Russia says Moscow and Crimea hit by Ukrainian drones while Russian forces bombard Ukraine's south. One Ukrainian aircraft fell near the Defense Ministry's main headquarters and others striking Crimea, while the Russian military unleashed new strikes on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 516. A Russian air attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed two people and severely damaged a historic Orthodox cathedral. UNESCO condemned the “brazen” attack as an “escalation of violence against the cultural heritage of Ukraine.”

IRAN THREAT

Iran kicks off air force drill as US sends more fighter planes to the region. Sunday began an annual air force drill in the central part of the country as the U.S. sends more fighter planes to the region to deter the Islamic Republic from seizing commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf area.

F-16 with three air-to-air kills flying missions to deter Iran. There was something different about one of the U.S. fighters that flew over the Strait of Hormuz this past week to deter Iran from seizing oil tankers.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

UN Command says it's communicating with North Korea over detained US soldier. It said Monday it has started conversations with North Korea over an American soldier who ran into the North last week across the Koreas' heavily armed border.

IDIOT – Army secretary worried about how North Korea may treat Pvt. Travis King. Four days after a U.S. soldier was taken into North Korean custody, mystery still swirls over why he decided to flee across the border into the authoritarian country.

Second US submarine arrives in South Korea amid North Korea tensions. A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea on Monday, only days after the first U.S. nuclear armed submarine made port in the country in four decades.

SPACE THREAT

YUP – First contact with aliens could end in colonization and genocide. If any actual evidence of extraterrestrial life emerges, whether from whistleblower testimony or an admission of a cover-up, humans would face a historic paradigm shift.

US Space Force holds first-ever forum with Japan to build next steps for cooperation. Their first-ever Space Engagement Talks last week are a key step in identifying and developing ways to collaborate in space.

Space Force raises the stakes as rocket companies compete for lucrative military missions. Space Force plans to buy even more rocket launches from companies in the coming years than previously expected. (RELATED: US Amassing Futuristic Arsenal – But Relying On Eccentric's Help)

HOMELAND SECURITY

Veteran killed in Fargo police ambush remembered as ‘brave young man.' Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin previously served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. (RELATED: To Cleanse The Palate: Arkansas Police Subdue Dangerous Criminal)

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

PODCAST: A massive mobility wargame in the Pacific. How a recent Air Force exercise in the Pacific is prepping the service to mount a response to regional aggression.

American special operations command in Africa puts Navy SEAL in charge. A Navy SEAL took command Friday of special operations missions in Africa, where countering terrorists in Somalia will be a major task for U.S. commandos involved in a major effort to build up local forces.

Firepower demonstrations 1,000 miles apart signal start of massive exercise in Australia. Two live-fire demonstrations kicked off the largest-ever Talisman Sabre exercise.

Cambodian leader's son, a West Point grad, set to take reins of power — but will he bring change? Hun Sen has been Cambodia's autocratic prime minister for nearly four decades, during which the opposition has been stifled and the country has grown increasingly close to China.

IDF to brief cabinet on military readiness as overhaul roils ranks. Military officials will brief members of the high-level security cabinet today, as protests over the judicial overhaul have roiled the Israel Defense Forces.

US MILITARY

Flying wings, rockets, gliders: Air Force envisions its next cargo workhorses. Pentagon wants a fleet able to fly vast distances in support of U.S. forces in the Pacific under policy to deter China.

Need better drone defense? The US military may have an app for that. Can a combination of crowd-sourced photography and smartphone software improve air defenses?

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.

READ NEXT: Ex-US Senator Returns To Politics – Jumps Into Marquee Race