THURSDAY PDB – With the recent military revolt in Russia, some ask – can it happen in China? The answer – much less likely. Unlike Russia today, China still maintains its communist system of control. And it has been reinforced under Xi Jinping.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exerts tight control over its military forces. The People's Liberation Army is the party's army and not a national army.
Whatever Yevgeny Prigozhin was plotting in Russia last week — mutiny, insurrection, civil war — this level of military insurrection would never have been possible in China.
China's military set-up is designed to foil any would-be Prigozhin. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is an explicitly political force — and the ultimate guarantor of the party's hold on power.
Early in Xi's rule, he ensured that the CCP studied the fall of the Soviet Communist party in Russia. In a major speech on its demise in 2012, Xi concluded that, “In the Soviet Union, where the military was depoliticized, separated from the party and nationalized, the party was disarmed.”
So, in 2014, the CCP declared that the PLA would be “at all times and under all circumstances to obey the orders” of Chairman Xi and the Party Central Committee.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
POLITICS
VETS ARE FIG LEAF FOR MASSIVE FED SPENDING BOONDOGGLE – White House $3.1 billion homeless program includes help for vets. Biden officials are pairing new legal support and job training programs for veterans with a $3.1 billion investment in general community support grants to help reduce the number of veterans facing homelessness.
TITANIC SUB DISASTER
Human remains have likely been recovered from the Titan submersible wreckage, US Coast Guard says. The submersible imploded during an underwater voyage to view the Titanic.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
GUESS GOING WOKE MEANS MORE WORK! – Navy recruiting increasing work week to six days to combat recruitment shortages. Starting July 8, Navy recruiters' work week will get a day longer.
HOMELAND SECURITY
PROSECUTOR IS WORRIED SO ADDS LESSER CHARGE – Marine vet pleads not guilty to revised charges in NYC subway death. Daniel Penny is charged in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely.
CHINA THREAT
China tells US to lift sanctions to reopen high-level military talks. “The US side knows the reason for difficulties in its military-to-military relations with China,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson said at a briefing in DC. “It actually imposed unilateral sanctions on China.”
OUTRAGEOUS – Chinese balloon used American tech to spy on Americans. Preliminary U.S. findings show the craft collected photos and videos but didn't appear to transmit them. DOUBTFUL IT DIDN'T TRANSMIT.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Satellite images show rapid construction at a former military base in Belarus. Is it Wagner's new home? The images reveal a possible location for the mercenaries who were given the option of relocating to Belarus after the group's failed rebellion against Russia's military leadership.
Poland sees rising danger with Wagner's presence in Belarus. Polish officials are increasing their security around the nation's border with neighboring Belarus due to concerns that the presence of the Wagner Group may intensify conflict between the two countries.
US approves $15 billion in Patriot and missile defense upgrades for Poland. The sale of an Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS) and related equipment to Poland will be used to upgrade its air defenses.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 491. The death toll from the Kramatorsk missile attack rose to at least 11, including three teenagers, after a Russian missile hit a crowded restaurant in the eastern city on Tuesday evening, according to Ukrainian officials. At least 61 people were wounded.
Wagner chief Prigozhin planned to capture Russian military leaders. The mercenary leader planned to capture Russia's military leadership as part of the mutiny, Western officials said, and he accelerated his plans after the domestic intelligence agency became aware of the plot.
IRAN THREAT
Europeans plan to keep ballistic missile sanctions on Iran. European diplomats have told Iran they plan to retain European Union (EU) ballistic missile sanctions set to expire in October under the defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a step that could provoke Iranian retaliation.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Turn Eastern and Northern Europe into military porcupines. With the NATO summit set for June 11-12, the focus will rightly be on Ukraine's potential path to join the alliance. But the alliance should look beyond Ukraine and turn a mirror on itself to consider how its own front-line states would fare in a Russian invasion.
US Green Berets are looking to troops from NATO's newest member as ‘mentors' for harsh winter combat. Finland became NATO's 31st member in April, but it has long worked closely with the alliance.
US nuclear-powered sub makes historic stop in Faroe Islands in North Atlantic. The port call this week marked the first-ever visit by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine to the North Atlantic archipelago.
US MILITARY
Exclusive: Army secretary talks force structure cuts, SOF ‘reform.' The Army is preparing to axe some units and restructure others, the service's top civilian said in an exclusive phone interview Friday, but it's still not clear when and how the changes will play out.
A squad corpsman: How Marine planners are seeking better combat care. The next phase of experimentation will focus on what battalions need.
US Marine Corps begins developing smaller pre-positioning ship. It is taking the first step to define its next-generation maritime prepositioning ship, which will be smaller than the vessels currently serving that purpose, but still able to support distributed maritime operations.
As the Air Force prepares for austere ops, who will watch the weather? USAF weather specialists may have some heavy lifting in their future, as the service prepares for a possible conflict against a near-peer adversary.
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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