On Point: China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Camouflaged in Silk

Think of it as a revived Silk Road, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in 2013 when he announced China would proudly sponsor a multi-decade international commercial and infrastructure development project — notionally running from China through Central Asia and connecting to points beyond. Yes, a benign Silk Road where all prosper. The project would have a maritime development component as well.

India, however, was immediately suspicious. China and India are rival powers, militarily and economically. They have unresolved territorial disputes in the Himalayas that occasionally involve gunfire between their armies.

Toying with a World War (II)

BERLIN/DAMASCUS (Own report) -While jihadi militias pursue their military offensive launched on the weekend in Aleppo, the German government is increasing its pressure on Russia. “As the most important supporter of the regime” in Damascus, Moscow must provide “a sound agreement for Aleppo,” demanded German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. But it was in fact the militia that broke the ceasefire initiated by Russia late last week and it was they who were also preventing the evacuation of the civilian population by firing at the escape corridors, as a British journalist reported from Aleppo. Similar practices are being used by the militia in the Iraqi town of Mosul, however these are being described for what they are, i.e. the IS is using civilians as “human shields.” The German government is intensifying its pressure on Russia, at a moment when Moscow is reinforcing its military strength in the Eastern Mediterranean with the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group near the Syrian coast, aimed at achieving an equal footing with the western powers. A German Bundeswehr frigate is accompanying the French aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” in the same region, where the Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” is going. Particularly the German Green Party leadership is raising demands for declaring a no-fly zone over Syria – preparing another escalation, risking a direct war with Russia.

Russian Marines to Prepare for Arctic Warfare in 2015: Northern Fleet

 

Russia’s Northern Fleet marines will participate in military exercises on the Arctic, according to Northern Fleet spokesperson Vadim Serga.

MOSCOW, January 8 (Sputnik) — Russia’s Northern Fleet marines will undergo special training in 2015 for military activities in the Arctic, Northern Fleet spokesperson Vadim Serga said Thursday.