US Must Use All Levers To Combat China’s Many Threats

PAUL’S DAILY BRIEF (PDB) Friday – ‘Every lever of statecraft’ needed to overcome Pacific threats, commander says. The U.S. military services are “doing everything that’s possible within the laws of physics” in the Indo-Pacific right now, but the region’s challenges require “every lever of statecraft, not just the military lever.”

China, of late, has been having fewer run-ins with the U.S., but more with allies, which is “why this channel is so important,” Adm. Samuel Paparo said.

Many of the recent aggressions have targeted Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, including a June attack by the Chinese coast guard on a Filipino naval craft involving an ax.

“This is how the gray zone is defined…actions by a state actor, where they use aggression in such a way…that achieves ends with violence, in a way that minimizes the risk of open, acknowledged armed conflict. There’s always a risk of employing gray zone operation, but an ‘armed attack’ is amorphously defined,” Paparo said.

RELATEDLY…

Japan feels ‘sense of danger’ following territorial violations by China and Russia.

US multirole mid-range missile system will remain in northern Philippines despite China’s alarm.

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:       

NATIONAL SECURITY

What will the surge of US forces to the Middle East cost the military? The day the Middle East almost erupted into a full regional war this summer, Lloyd Austin was touring an Asian shipyard. Just before the defense secretary visited Subic Bay, Philippines, the former site of a massive U.S. Navy base, Israel killed the political leader of Hamas, who was visiting Iran.

HOMELAND SECURITY

New border base camp staffing up in Eagle Pass. The state of Texas is building a new operating base that will eventually house as many as 2,300 National Guard troops stationed along the border with Mexico.

Air Force evacuates aircraft, 3,300 Florida Guard troops activated as Hurricane Helene approaches Gulf Coast.

Judge dismisses case against man accused of shooting at military helicopters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

POLITICS

Bipartisan duo of lawmakers to introduce ‘Ships for America Act’ aimed at boosting America’s civilian and defense maritime industries following the election.

Veterans could get free gun safes under suicide prevention proposal introduced in House. Any veteran who wants a lockbox to store their firearm would be able to get one for free from the VA under this bill.

House lawmakers urge support for caregiver services to help seriously disabled veterans stay out of nursing homes.

US POWER OVERSEAS

10 nations to join massive 10-day Army training in Hawaii next month with drills taking place on three of the state’s islands.

Oiler USNS Big Horn now in port in Oman as Congress raises questions over logistics fleet. The Navy oiler was damaged in the Arabian Sea this week.

ISRAEL WAR AGAINST TERROR

Biden says Israel-Hezbollah conflict could turn into ‘all-out war’ as US floats cease-fire proposal that Israel is ignoring.

For Lebanon, a war in all but name has finally arrived: Experts. With Israel following up its targeted attacks on Hezbollah members by unleashing unprecedented air strikes over the last 48 hours, and there are signs a ground incursion may be coming soon.

Why everything is suddenly spiraling for Israel. What would you do? There is no other question that Israel’s government has posed to the world more often since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and Hezbollah attacked Israel on Oct. 8.

CHINA THREAT

China’s satellites are dodging US eyes in space. Secretive U.S. spy satellites since 2014 have kept an eye on foreign spacecraft in geosynchronous orbits. That hasn’t stopped Chinese satellites from dodging them.

Japan replaces captain of destroyer accused of straying into Chinese waters.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Putin lowers threshold of nuclear response as he issues new warnings to the West over Ukraine. Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that any nation’s conventional attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.

Zelensky warns UN that Russia is preparing to attack nuclear plants. He also issued a stark call for global leadership to help him attain peace as his country stares down a cold, dark winter with most of its energy infrastructure destroyed.

Zelensky is in the US seeking aid. Here’s what Ukraine needs. President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the United States this week — culminating in a Thursday meeting at the White House.

What the US election means for Ukraine. A Trump Win Would Cause a Crisis for Kyiv—but Wouldn’t Guarantee Defeat.

NORTH KOREA

THANKS TO TRUMP – US, South Korea begin their eighth round of defense cost-sharing talks in 5 months. This to better share the cost of stationing 28,500 troops in South Korea.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Dutch Navy to buy armed sidekick ships for its air-defense frigates. The two support vessels will act as sidekicks to its frigates, packing additional missiles to defeat swarms of anti-ship missiles and drones.

Mexico’s Congress puts National Guard (paramilitary federal police) under military command despite criticism. Why does it matter?

Meet the Afghan general who wants to take on the Taliban.

US MILITARY

Pentagon makes early pick for hypersonic interceptor developer. The Missile Defense Agency has chosen Northrop Grumman to design an interceptor capable of defeating hypersonic weapons in the glide phase of flight.

AIR FORCE

The Air Force unveiled an ambitious reorganization plan. Can it survive a presidential election? The new plan is designed to keep the Air Force and Space Force competitive against China. It lists 24 items ranging from bringing back warrant officers and reorganizing training to creating new offices and elevating new commands.

Air Combat Command activates 3 new air task forces. This brings the Air Force closer to starting all six of the units that will form the next stage of its deployment model.

NAVY

Watch the USS Dewey fire the Mark 45 5-inch lightweight gun.

ARMY

Army looks to robotics, AI to make refueling aircraft faster and safer in battle. It has begun revamping outdated aircraft fueling and rearming procedures.

Army awards two contracts to build cargo-carrying robot prototypes.

Army’s new ‘female’ mannequin-style medical simulators teach medics not to ‘hesitate.’ Women injured in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq died at higher rates than their male peers with the same injuries.

Army enlists AI to identify prospective new recruits. Army recruiters may soon be relieved from the dreaded “cold calls” to high school students in their frustrated fishing expedition for new recruits.

MARINES

Marine Corps rolls out major plan to overhaul marksmanship training for the first time in a century. It sets deadlines for new training to be up and running across the force and mandates major renovations for shooting ranges that don’t yet comply with the new marksmanship standards.

Can AI predict if a Marine will quit? Corps wants to know. The Corps has no real process for weeding out folks who sign the enlistment paperwork but are unlikely to make it through their four-year contract. AI can predict whether a Marine recruit will complete their full term and pinpoint what might get in the way of that.

Marine Corps wants to mount high-performance computer on MQ-9 Reaper drones that could operate at the top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) level.

SPACE FORCE

Space Force picks four firms to design ‘Resilient GPS’ satellites for military and civilian users.

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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