Germany warns of dangers of new arms race with Russia as conflict in Ukraine intensifies

Sigmar Gabriel made his first visit to Moscow as Foreign Minister [Getty]

 

GERMANY’S foreign minister has warned of the dangers of engaging in a new arms race with Russia, calling on all sides to work together to end the violence in eastern Ukraine.

Sigmar Gabriel has used his first visit to Moscow as foreign minister to underscore his concerns about Russia’s military buildup in the Baltic region and its western borders.

He also expressed concerns about the conflict’s resulting “exorbitant military spending increases”.

New ARMS RACE: Germany AND Russia vow to boost defence spending as Europe militarises

Germany’s defence minister with German troops (Getty)

 

ANGELA Merkel and Vladimir Putin have separately announced plans to increase military spending as Europe looks to equip itself for war.

Both leaders said their respective armies would be bolstered in the coming years, setting the continent on course for a new arms race.

President Putin declared the Kremlin must boost its combat readiness to counter expansion by Nato towards Russia’s borders.

Russia’s Permanent Representative To NATO Amb. Grushko: The NATO-Russia Council Meeting Attests To NATO’s Failure To Isolate Russia

On April 20, 2016, the NATO-Russia Council’s first meeting in almost two years took place in Brussels, Belgium. The last time the NRC met was in June 2014.[1] Following the Ukrainian crisis and the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, civilian and military cooperation between NATO and Russia was suspended; however, some channels of communication remained open, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov several times during the past two years. Following the NRC meeting, Stoltenberg said that NATO and Russia continue to have “profound and persistent disagreements.”[2]

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All the heads of missions of the 28 NATO member states participated in the meeting, which went nearly two hours longer than planned. Russia was represented by its Permanent Representative to NATO, Ambassador Alexander Grushko.

America Is Blind to the Growing Risk of Catastrophic War

 

Pax Americana was meant to ensure global stability by discouraging other nations from building up armaments. The absence of arms races meant there was relative stability and a lesser chance of war breaking out. Today, however, America’s leadership is taking the opposite approach, encouraging allies to fend for themselves without American aid. This shift will prove to be catastrophic for the United States because it is based on the assumption that allies will always be allies. History proves this is a fatal mistake. To learn the outcome of this dangerous trend, listen to today’s Trumpet Daily Radio Show.

China Is Building The World’s Second Stealth Air Force

“2017” prototype heralds the end of an era for J-20 fighter jet testing, start of another era

The eighth J-20 prototype “2017” made its maiden flight on November 24, 2015 at the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) factory in Chengdu, China. Complete with a red carpet launch ceremony, the event was well attended by AVIC dignitaries, J-20 program personnel and government officials. After several months of preliminary flight testing, “2017” is likely to be taken by the Chine Test Flight Establishment (CTFE) to remote northern China, where it can conduct more significant testing away from prying eyes.

Futurist: Risk of Miscalculating Nuclear War is Higher Than Ever

With future combat likely to occur in cyberspace and space as well as on land, sea and air, the potential for nuclear-miscalculation is greater than at any time since the worst days of the Cold War, said Singer, a strategist with the New America think tank.

“You may now not do certain things, because you need to signal to the other side, ‘Yeah, we’re at war, but we’re not in that kind of war,’” Singer told a group Monday at the Air Force Association’s annual Air and Space Conference outside Washington, D.C. “This also applies to how we think about deterrence and cyber conflict.”

Not Only Against Russia

BERLIN (Own report) – Bundeswehr circles are calling for German military activities to be extended in the Indian Ocean. According to an analysis by three political scientists at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, the ocean linking Eastern Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia is the most important sea for global trade. It will replace the Atlantic, to become the most important “Ocean of the 21st Century.” Germany, therefore, must become more active – militarily as well, beginning, for example, with joint maneuvers with the bordering countries. Until now, Germany only has a permanent presence in Djibouti, in the western Indian Ocean, which is seen as insufficient. This plea for opening a parallel theater of conflict alongside the power struggle with Russia, dovetails with existing German activities, for example, the reinforced arms buildup of the East and Southeast Asian rivals of the People’s Republic of China. As has now been confirmed in the new Arms Exports Report, published in the middle of this week, Germany’s arms export policies have already begun to focus on East and Southeast Asia. Four countries from these regions are among the top ten customers of German military hardware, but only two NATO member countries.

Saudi Arabia ‘could go nuclear’ unless Iran talks lead to ‘watertight’ agreement warns ambassador

Saudi Arabia could attempt to obtain a nuclear weapon unless negotiations with Iran produce a “watertight” agreement over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Saudi ambassador to the UK has warned.

Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud said he hoped negotiations with Iran would lead to a “guarantee Iran will not pursue this kind of weapon”, but that “if this does not happen, then all options will be on the table for Saudi Arabia”.

Divine Eagle, China’s Enormous Stealth Hunting Drone, Takes Shape

Divine Eagle

The Divine Eagle is a low observable, high altitude UAV meant detect stealth aircraft at long ranges, using special purpose radars.

Photos have emerged of the Divine Eagle, perhaps China’s most ambitious drone design. Planned to hunt stealth planes from afar, it could turn out to be not just the world’s largest drone, but one of the most important to the future of war.

Russia’s growing presence in Latin America is cause of worry for U.S. and its allies

The U.S. and its allies seem to be waking up a little too late.

Before Obama became President in 2008 the Soviets wanted to renovate their old Punte Hinte strategic airport in Nicaragua, the largest within the country, that can accommodate Russia’s Tu-160 strategic bomber (or other future bombers) in an ideal spot from which to launch attacks on the American homeland.

Most of the danger lies not in the fact that the Russians are meddling in America’s “backyard”, but in the fact of how slow America is to realize what’s taking place and how it reacts, which is complacent.

 

Punta Heute Airfield, Nicaragua

 

Frequent visits to the region by high-ranking Russian officials – culminating this week with a four-nation trip by Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov – and rumors of the sale of military aircraft to countries like Argentina and Nicaragua have led to widespread speculation about Moscow’s increasing role in Latin America and what this means for relations between the United States and its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.

Japan’s indigenous stealth fighter to fly this year amid arms race worries

 

Development of ATD-X jet part of Tokyo’s effort to upgrade its defence capabilities; analysts warn it could spark claims of arms race in Asia

A prototype of Japan’s first domestically produced stealth fighter will get airborne before the end of the year, a significant development in Tokyo’s efforts to improve its defence capabilities.

Known as the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) fighter, the aircraft is being developed by the defence ministry’s research institute and a number of private companies, primarily Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Zones of Future Conflicts

BEIJING/WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Own report) – German government advisors are warning against an arms race and possible military confrontations in East Asia. As a recent study by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) explains, China’s attempts to take control over its coastal waters and its maritime trade routes collide with the USA’s attempts to uphold Washington’s claims to maintain its “international leadership role.” The arms buildup of the Chinese Navy and the initial shift of US armed forces to the Pacific are colliding head-on and could – in the worst case – result in armed conflict. In effect, as a NATO partner of the United States, Germany would also be implicated in cases of conflict. German naval vessels are already being incorporated with growing frequency into the US Navy’s combat units. Berlin is also contributing to the expansion of NATO military cooperation with the pro-western countries of east and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific regions through military policy measures and arms exports. German naval circles are also demanding that the German Navy soon be given an arms upgrade and an offensive posture.

India’s new war toy

India on Monday acquired a nuclear submarine from Russia and became the sixth country in the world to have such capability. The new war toy has been taken on lease for a period of 10 years which will cost India $1 billion. What is still more alarming is that according to reports India is in talk with Russia for getting another nuclear submarine on lease.

Continue reading article: India’s new war toy (The Nation)