"Arise, Africa, Our Motherland — Let the Earth Hear Your Song"
O Africa, cradle of kings and queens,
Your rivers shimmer with untapped dreams,
Your mountains hum with ancient songs,
Your soil, rich with the blood of the strong.
Arise from slumber, O Mother divine,
Awaken the wealth that lies in your spine —
Gold, oil, diamonds, fertile lands,
But greater still, the strength of your hands.
Let the deserts bloom and the cities rise,
Let knowledge and courage light up your skies.
No longer bow, no longer plead —
Stand firm, create, plant every seed.
Use your treasures, both seen and unseen,
For progress, for dignity, for a future pristine.
O Africa, hear destiny's drum —
Arise, our Motherland — your time has come!
By Jo Ikeji-Uju
https://afriprime.net/page...

The Philippines and United States militaries have sailed together in the South China Sea for a seventh time to boost interoperability between the two sides, Manila's armed forces said on Thursday.

The exercises, held on Wednesday in waters off the provinces of Occidental Mindoro and Zambales and away from contested features, included joint operations near shorelines as well as fire support.

"The MCA (maritime cooperative activity) is a demonstration of both nations' resolve to deepen cooperation and enhance interoperability in line with international law," the Philippine armed forces said in a statement.

The joint sail also showcased the Philippine vessel Miguel Malvar, a 118-metre guided missile frigate commissioned last month. It is one of two corvettes built by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries under the Philippines' military modernisation programme.
Military engagements between the treaty allies have soared under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has pivoted closer to Washington in response to China's growing presence in the South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Following news that two Chinese nationals were charged with allegedly smuggling a "dangerous biological pathogen" into the U.S. to study at an American university, an expert on China who said the arrests should be a wake-up call to the country.

"I was entirely unsurprised, which is a sad commentary, but it speaks to the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP wants to kill Americans," Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute focusing on U.S. and China relations, told Fox News Digital after FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests of the two Chinese nationals.

"Look at what they've done with smuggling fentanyl precursors into our country to kill Americans, look at the effects of them failing to stop the spread of COVID-19," Sobolik said. "Dead Americans. The fact that they want to target Americans here within the United States with pathogens and with bioweapons. This is the Chinese Communist Party. This is what they do. They're in a cold war with the United States. They want to become the most powerful nation in the world and they wanna make the world safe for their tyranny and unsafe for freedom. And they're coming for us here at home."

The couple are accused of smuggling a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a "potential agroterrorism weapon," according to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors note that the noxious fungus causes "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice, and "is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year."
The Justice Department also says Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage and "reproductive defects in humans and livestock."

According to the criminal complaint, one of the accused allegedly received Chinese government funding for her work on the pathogen in China.

The couple are accused of bringing the pathogen into the U.S. to study at a University of Michigan laboratory, which raises more concerns about Chinese nationals infiltrating American universities.

Last month, a bombshell report out of Stanford University shed light on the influence of spies from the Chinese Communist Party that the student newspaper says have likely infiltrated the prestigious institution and other universities nationwide to gather intelligence.

The Chinese embassy in the Philippines urged the European Union to stop "provoking trouble" in the South China Sea on Thursday, and advised Manila not to "fantasise" about relying on outside forces to resolve disputes in the waterway.

An embassy spokesperson made the comments after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas visited the Philippine capital and voiced concern over China's activities in the busy waterway, where its claims overlap those of some Southeast Asian nations.

"We urge the EU to genuinely respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and to stop provoking trouble," the spokesperson said in a statement on the embassy website, noting the bloc has no right to interfere.

The spokesperson also said Manila should return to dialogue and consultation to manage differences with China instead of "fantasising about relying on external forces" to resolve the South China Sea dispute.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The EU and the Philippines have expressed concerns about China's "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive measures" against Philippine vessels and aircraft conducting lawful maritime operations in the South China Sea, according to a joint statement after Kallas met with Philippine foreign minister earlier this week.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Elon Musk escalates feud with Trump: 'Time to drop the really big bomb'

Elon Musk alleged that President Donald Trump's name is mentioned in undisclosed classified files related to the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a feud between Trump and the world's richest man devolved into deeply personal attacks.

"Time to drop the really big bomb," Musk said in a June 5 post on X. "realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"

Trump did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about Musk’s Esptein claim following a White House event with Attorney General Pam Bondi and members of the National Fraternal Order of Police.

The White House sent USA TODAY a statement from Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt in response to the Epstein allegations. "This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again," Leavitt said.
Musk provided no evidence for his allegation but wrote: "Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out."

His attack came after Trump, in posts on Truth Social, threatened to end government contracts with Musk's companies and said Musk left the White House's Department of Government Efficiency because Trump asked him to leave.
After hyping up the release of declassified government files on Epstein, Bondi on Feb. 27 disclosed about 200 pages of documents that implicated no one else in Epstein's orbit other than Epstein, who died in a federal prison in 2019.

The “Epstein list,” and the scandal surrounding the multimillionaire’s exploitation of teenage girls offers plenty of red meat for partisans on the right and left. Trump and Epstein were filmed and photographed together at parties, and in 2002 he praised the wealthy businessman as a "terrific guy.”

One of the most powerful alliances in American politics appears to be over.

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk explosively sparred on their respective social media platforms Thursday – with the president floating the idea of cutting the tech billionaire’s various government contracts and Musk going nuclear at one point and saying Trump’s name was in the so-called Epstein files.

Thursday’s drama started when Trump confirmed the deterioration of his relationship with Musk, saying he was “very disappointed” in the tech billionaire after he repeatedly blasted the president’s sweeping domestic agenda bill in recent days.

“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, less than one week after the two exchanged effusive praise on Musk’s last day as a special government employee.
Shortly after, Musk responded on his social media platform X that Trump could not have won the 2024 election without him – a jab that appeared to further irritate the president and significantly intensify the fight, which played out on dueling social media platforms owned by the two men.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk said. He added: “Such ingratitude.”

Musk had initially started the public feud Tuesday, calling a mammoth GOP bill on taxes, spending cuts, energy and the border a “disgusting abomination” due to projections it will greatly increase the deficit. The bill narrowly passed the House last month and is being considered by the Senate, and the tech billionaire has made it clear he’s aiming to sink it or prompt Republican lawmakers to rewrite it significantly. Trump and Musk have not spoken since Musk’s initial outburst, multiple sources told CNN.

The back-and-forth between Trump and his megadonor, former “first buddy” and surrogate-turned-special-government-employee marked a very public breakup of a former center of power for the second Trump administration. The president had fully empowered Musk to take dramatic steps through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency to transform the size and scope of the federal government, which Musk carried out with varying levels of success. But the friendship quickly soured upon his departure as Musk railed against Trump’s most critical agenda item.

The situation further devolved through the afternoon. Trump threatened to “terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” a move that could have devastating impacts on his businesses, and even major implications for the International Space Station.

China’s Mining Plan In Myanmar Faces Massive Protest; Locals Block Roads, Threaten To Seize Chinese Equipment.

Hundreds of protesting Myanmar tribespeople march up a hillside to a cavernous facility where a Chinese joint venture’s giant milling machines stand ready to grind up the rocks of their ancestral homeland for lead ore.

Demand for the heavy metal is forecast to rise, driven by its use in the batteries needed for the global energy transition.

However, its extraction can pollute the environment, and the Pradawng tribespeople carry banners reading: “No transparency, no responsibility.”

“We don’t have any plan to exchange this inheritance from our ancestors for money or riches,” said 24-year-old protest leader Khun Khine Min Naing.

“This land is the dignity of our tribe.”

Since a 2021 coup, Myanmar has been riven by civil war and shattered into a patchwork of loosely governed territories ripe for exploitation by unregulated miners.

And neighbouring China is keen to scoop up the minerals and metals Myanmar can supply.

The Pradawng — a little-known subtribe of the Kayan ethnic group — claim around 3,000 members and a 381-year lineage in Shan state, in Myanmar’s east.

They say Myanmar firm Four Star Company and a Chinese partner have planned a mega-project mining lead upriver from their village, Thi Kyeik, in Pekon township.

Heavy machinery began to be installed in February, but the tribe say they were not consulted on the scheme and fear it will taint the area with hazardous chemicals.

Locals have blockaded roads to turn back vehicles, and threatened to seize mining equipment, defying possible violent backlash in a country where the right to assemble often depends on the whims of armed guards.

“We are only asking for Indigenous rights that we should own,” Khun Khine Min Naing told AFP, demanding mine plans are rolled back until the war is over and they can be scrutinised by a civilian government.

– Natural Resources –
Lead is a toxic metal, most commonly mined for use in lead-acid batteries.

Extracting it can pollute local soil and water supplies, with children particularly vulnerable to exposure, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We don’t want to leave this land environmentally damaged for the next generation,” said Khun Khine Min Naing. “We don’t want to be regarded as historical criminals.”

The Pradawng say Four Star Company has been active locally for two decades and is linked to the local ruling Kayan New Land Party, whose armed wing maintains a ceasefire with Myanmar’s military.

The firm could not be reached for comment.

Their Chinese partner company is harder to identify, and locals say its involvement was only revealed when its representatives attended a joint event with Four Star Company intended to address community backlash.

China shares a 2,100-kilometre (1,300-mile) border with Myanmar and has long been a lucrative market for the country’s natural resources, including jade, gemstones, teak logs and metal ores.

It accounts for nearly 98 percent of Myanmar’s lead ore and concentrate exports, according to 2023 World Bank data.

The figures say 49,000 tonnes worth $20 million were exported to China that year, but that is likely far short of the true amount.

The lack of a central authority means tracking the real scale of mining operations across Myanmar is difficult.

But satellite imagery analysis of one hotspot on the Myanmar-China border by the Britain-based Centre for Information Resilience showed the expanse of mining operations there nearly doubled in size between 2018 and 2024.

– ‘Only stones for our children’ –
Rechargeable lead-acid batteries are widely used in vehicles, including EVs where they provide auxiliary power, as well as for storing power generated by renewable technologies such as wind and solar.

The metal — identified by the WHO as “one of 10 chemicals of major public health concern” — sells for around $2,000 per refined tonne on the global market.

But the Pradawng people suspect they will see none of the profits.

Along with health risks, locals fear environmental damage, with villagers saying increased mining in recent years has led to more flooding and mudslides that carried off entire homes.

Mu Ju July, 19, ekes out a living picking through mine slag heaps for scraps of lead to sell.

A flurry of prospecting could be a windfall for her, but she worries it will squander the livelihoods and homes of future generations.

“If we allow them, we will be okay for only one or two years,” she said.

“It will leave only stones when the time comes for our children.”

Ominous Signs For Taiwan & Japan! Why South Korea’s New President Is Good News For China & Russia.

Inaugurated as President soon after being declared the winner of South Korea’s Presidential election at 6:21 a.m. on June 3, (South Korea- time), Lee Jae-myung of the country’s progressive Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has pledged to “expand the Republic of Korea’s economic territory by broadening the horizons of diplomacy and enhancing international standing”.

In all likelihood, his diplomatic vision will be closely watched by all those who believe in the United States-led security structure in the Indo-Pacific, particularly by the ruling elites in Taiwan and Japan, who seem to be discomforted by Lee’s slogan of “pragmatism.”

In his inaugural speech as President, Lee highlighted the salience of “pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests” to “turn the crisis of a major transformation in the global economic and security environment into an opportunity to maximize national interests.”

He has reaffirmed his approach to relations with neighboring countries, including China and Russia, “from the perspective of national interest and pragmatism,” while emphasizing the Korea-US alliance as the cornerstone of foreign policy.

Perceived to be “pro-China” during the electioneering, Lee’s inaugural speech does not seem to have cleared doubts in Washington and Tokyo, despite promising that he would bolster a trilateral partnership with the US and Japan.

After all, he warned that rapid changes in the global order, including rising protectionism, pose a threat to his country’s survival.

“The rapid changes in the global order, such as rising protectionism and supply chain restructuring, pose a threat to our very survival,” Lee said in his inaugural address, in an apparent reference to the global trade chaos followed by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

If one goes by the more ideologically driven progressives within Lee’s ruling DPK, which also controls South Korea’s parliament, the new President may create a distance between Seoul and Washington, particularly if the Trump administration reduces its security commitment on the Korean Peninsula or pushes South Korea beyond its comfort zone to deter China.

Incidentally, Lee had made waves on the campaign trail by saying that Seoul should stay out of any China-Taiwan conflict. This needs to be seen along with the fact that earlier this year, the speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly – an ally of Lee’s – received an unusually warm welcome in Beijing, including an hour-long meeting with Xi Jinping.

Of course, to be fair to Lee, he has been advocating for “foreign policy pragmatism” ever since he was a presidential candidate in 2022. He had lost this election very narrowly to the conservative People Power Party’s Yoon Suk Yeol.

But in April, President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached, after he declared a short-lived state of martial law in December 2024 because Lee’s DPK was making governance impossible by rejecting all his policies because of its parliamentary majority.

As the Presidential candidate in 2022, Lee had explained his “Practical Vision” in an article in the Foreign Affairs journal. In this, he had called for “pragmatic diplomacy” toward neighboring countries, including China.

Although Lee acknowledged Beijing’s increasing assertiveness, he argued that Seoul should cooperate with Beijing. Furthermore, Lee stated that “overt antagonism serves neither South Korea’s national interests nor its alliance with Washington.”

In the above article, Lee admitted his problems with Japan.

“It is regrettable that Tokyo’s unwillingness to let go of its imperial past continues to hamper trilateral cooperation between Japan, South Korea, and the United States”, he pointed out, arguing how in 2018, after South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that Japanese corporations must pay reparations for their use of Korean forced labor during World War II. Tokyo imposed retaliatory export controls on three key chemicals—photoresists, hydrogen fluoride, and fluorinated polyimide—critical for making South Korea’s semiconductors and high-end displays used for televisions and smartphones. This was a shocking act of economic coercion to settle a historical grudge”.

It may be noted that relations between Japan and South Korea had seen an upswing during Yoon’s Presidency. And that was noteworthy because years under Yoon’s immediate predecessor, President Moon Jae-in (from Lee’s party) had nurtured anti-Japanese feelings.

Moon had scrapped the foundation that Tokyo and Seoul had set up with Japanese funding to provide restitution to the victims and their families. And the situation was further aggravated when, in 2018, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered several Japanese companies to compensate unpaid South Korean World War II laborers.

Against this background, President Yoon had sincerely and actively tried to rise above these historical animosities and join hands together with Japan and the U.S. in the face of mounting North Korean aggressiveness and the Chinese hegemony, something all three consider to be their common threats.

Yoon had said that he believed in what he called “values-based diplomacy.”

Yoon often pointed out that “South Korea and Japan are now new partners who share universal values and pursue common interests.” He had emphasized the importance of Japan in South Korea’s security, particularly the seven rear bases provided to the United Nations Command by Japan, which could “serve as the greatest deterrent” to North Korea invading the South.

Under Yoon, South Korea has restored and expanded joint military drills (suspended under Moon to what was said “appease” China policy; he was believed to be the most pro-China President in South Korean history) and joined exercises with the US and Japan to track and intercept missiles from North Korea.

Yoon had proposed an initiative to resolve disputes stemming from compensation for wartime Korean forced laborers. He had announced that South Korea would use its own funds to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II. This was reciprocated by Japan, which rolled back the sanctions on South Korea.

Yoon also traveled to Tokyo in March 2023 for talks with the then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It was the first visit by a South Korean President to Japan in over 12 years. Kishida reciprocated with a visit to Seoul in May and expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced laborers during Japan’s colonial rule.

Will Lee’s election as South Korea’s new President arrest the further momentum in the ties between Seoul and Tokyo, given his and his DPK’s traditional antipathy towards Japan?

It is a difficult question to answer. While Lee talks of “pragmatism,” during the electioneering, he said something that was considered by many analysts to be quite “ambiguous.”

On April 25, he clearly stated during a televised debate that South Korea must not be unconditionally tethered to the alliance or rigidly confined by the Korea–US–Japan trilateral bloc.

“Of course, the Korea–US alliance is indeed the foundation of the Republic of Korea’s foreign policy …but bloc alignments also carry weight. Trilateral cooperation among Korea, the US, and Japan is also important. But we cannot be unilaterally bound to those alone.”

In an interview released on the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation’s YouTube channel in mid-April, Lee argued that Seoul cannot afford to turn its back on either Beijing or Moscow in pursuit of its national interest, given their geographical proximity and deep economic entanglement.

“Even if we wanted to abandon ties with China and Russia, we couldn’t. We’re intertwined with them — what choice do we have?” Lee added, “Our economies are deeply intertwined with them, and geography makes separation impossible. It’s fate — our destiny.”

Lee emphasized the significance of navigating relations with China and Russia, especially at a time when a deteriorating global trade environment, hit by tariff wars, is weighing heavily on export-reliant South Korea.

During another television debate on May 18, Lee said, “We must prioritize the national interest and avoid becoming too deeply involved in the China-Taiwan conflict. The idea is to respect the status quo and maintain an appropriate distance.”

Pressed on whether he would support intervention in a potential China-Taiwan contingency, Lee declined to give a definitive answer, instead emphasizing a flexible, situational approach.

“If a specific situation arises, we must assess it flexibly, based on the national interest,” he said. “Diplomatic relations are fluid, and responses should vary accordingly.”

While reaffirming the importance of the South Korea–U.S. alliance, Lee said diplomacy with other major powers, such as China and Russia, should be handled in a prudent manner, saying it should be guided by “pragmatism” and the “national interest.”

In this interview, Lee acknowledged the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and why it should remain “the foundation of our diplomacy and security, and be further strengthened,” but he added, and that is important to note, “however, we should not go all in and put all our eggs in one basket.”

If anything, these suggest that there could be a shift away from former President Yoon’s “values-based diplomacy” toward Lee’s foreign policy of pragmatism. However, it remains to be seen whether that pragmatism will be a turning point for the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese Web Around U.S. Military Bases Worries Americans; Is Ukraine’s ‘Shock’ Attack On Russia A Wake-Up Call For Trump?

The surprise Ukrainian drone attack on Russia, facilitated by the smuggling of drones inside trucks, has rattled the world at large. American analysts and lawmakers are now concerned that Chinese cargo ships that dock at U.S. ports could potentially carry out a similar stunt against the United States.

The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, launched the drone attacks on multiple Russian military bases on June 1 under ‘Operation Spiderweb.’ The operation involved 117 First Person View (FPV) drones that were smuggled into Russia, concealed in wooden containers with remotely operated roofs mounted on trucks.

These trucks, driven by individuals reportedly unaware of the cargo they were carrying, were positioned near the target air bases to ensure precision strikes.

Russia couldn’t have fathomed that an infiltration like that was taking place right under its nose. The strikes, meticulously planned over 18 months, humiliated Russia’s military by exposing the gaps in its intelligence architecture and the vulnerabilities in its air defenses.

Caught unaware, the Russian military sustained losses of billions of dollars. In the aftermath of the incident, several pro-Russian military bloggers said it was Russia’s Pearl Harbor, a reference to the surprise Japanese attack on the US Pearl Harbor port during World War II, that destroyed multiple US warships and aircraft.

The attack, perhaps the most significant demonstration of asymmetric warfare in recent times, will have far-reaching global repercussions. US analysts are concerned that China could replicate a similar move against America, utilizing its cargo ships that have unrestricted access to US ports, as highlighted by Newsweek in a recent report.

The report noted that lawmakers and security experts have expressed concerns over China’s state-owned shipping behemoth, COSCO Shipping, operating across US ports, despite being classified as a Chinese military enterprise by the Pentagon in January 2025.

US analysts have voiced concern that these cargo ships could be used to deploy drones, possibly hidden inside ships, to launch a preemptive strike on US ports in the event of a conflict.

COSCO is the largest state-owned shipping firm in China and a significant force in international marine logistics, with a considerable presence in important US ports, including Oakland, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, among others.

In January 2025, the House Committee on Homeland Security expressed concern about COSCO’s access to major US ports and the alleged presence of suspected Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political officers on board its ships, suggesting direct CCP influence. It warned of threats like espionage, cyber intrusion, or even sabotage by the Chinese.

The Trump administration has imposed port fees on COSCO to challenge China’s hegemony in the world’s shipbuilding industry. Additionally, the recently imposed US tariffs, including a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, have led to a sharp decline in COSCO’s shipments to American ports.

For example, the Port of Los Angeles saw a 35% plunge in cargo volume in May 2025, with COSCO and other carriers canceling transits.

Notably, a temporary US-China tariff truce last month spurred a surge in bookings, but COSCO continues to face operational challenges due to fees and reduced demand.

Despite COSCO’s reduced presence in the US, US analysts remain suspicious. Retired Navy Commander Thomas Shugart and a fellow at the Center for a New American Security said: “It is becoming borderline-insane that we routinely allow ships owned and operated by DoD-designated Chinese military companies to sit in our ports with thousands of containers onboard and under their control.”

While a Chinese attack is unlikely without an existing state of war, the presence of COSCO vessels near critical infrastructure, like the Norfolk Naval Station, raises concerns about espionage or sabotage.

It is pertinent to note that even the Ukrainian operation took 18 months of planning and intelligence gathering to achieve the desired result.

Moreover, there have been suggestive reports about China spying on US military facilities by purchasing land nearby and even infiltrating the US port infrastructure in the past, which makes the threat of a Ukraine drone-like attack more plausible to some in the US.

Chinese Spying Concerns Loom Large
Chinese ships docking at US ports have been a matter of discourse in the US for quite some time. Last year, a US Congressional investigation discovered that a Chinese business installed intelligence-gathering equipment on cranes used at US seaports, potentially enabling Beijing to spy on Americans or damage vital infrastructure.

ZPMC, a state-owned engineering company based in Shanghai, exerted pressure on American port authorities to grant remote access to its cranes, specifically those situated on the West Coast, i.e., the contiguous states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

The report, produced after a year-long research, warned that “This access could potentially be extended to other [People’s Republic of China] government entities, posing a significant risk due to the PRC’s national security laws that mandate cooperation with state intelligence agencies.”

Citing contract paperwork and testimonies from port operators, the investigation stated that “these unknown modems were believed to have been installed under the auspices of collecting usage data for the equipment.” These modems allegedly employed a covert approach to gathering data and circumventing firewalls, which could potentially disrupt port operations, even though they were unnecessary for the cranes to operate.

At the time, these findings caused alarm because about 80% of the cargo cranes in American ports are owned by ZPMC.

Transporting goods through US marine ports, which generate trillions of dollars in economic activity every year, requires ship-to-shore cranes. However, because these cranes can often be controlled remotely, anyone with access to the networks may be able to collect intelligence from ports or damage equipment.

In a hypothetical scenario, the intelligence collected through the cranes could be used to launch an ‘Operation Spiderweb’ type of operation where Chinese cargos double up as carriers of drones that go off by flicking a button on a remote.

Earlier, the White House disclosed plans to “phase out Chinese-made port equipment and fully return crane making to the United States to deal with 200 Chinese-made cranes at U.S. ports and facilities”. However, the progress of that effort under the Trump administration remains unknown.

Another prevailing concern in the United States has been the ownership of farm and commercial land near US military facilities by Chinese people and corporations.

A previous report revealed that Chinese companies purchased several farmlands close to strategic US military installations, including some of the most strategically important military installations, such as MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida; Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) in Killeen, Texas.

Sources suggest that under the guise of farming, Chinese landowners could potentially set up surveillance equipment or use drones to monitor military sites. According to the January 2024 data from the US Department of Agriculture, China claims 349,442 acres out of roughly 40 million acres of foreign-owned farmland, or 0.87 percent.

It does not help that Chinese nationals have sneaked into military bases and other sensitive US sites more than 100 times in recent years, as the Wall Street Journal reported in 2023. This raises a very alarming issue regarding Chinese ownership of land near military sites.

Additionally, the US National Association of Realtors (NAR) stated in a report last year that the Chinese have remained the top foreign buyers of US residential property for the 11th consecutive year.

Experts caution that, just as Ukraine’s drones targeted Russian airfields, Chinese-owned property may be used for tracking devices, reconnaissance sites, or drones to observe US military activities.

The strategic placement of these lands near bases like Fort Liberty, which hosts critical airborne and special operations units, amplifies concerns about a surprise threat akin to Pearl Harbor’s unexpected attack.

Although no US federal law mandates a ban, individual states have been passing laws to curtail Chinese ownership of land near US military bases.

Trump ‘Pitches’ F-47 Aircraft, Golden Dome Defense Shield To Its Closet Ally In Indo-Pacific Region: Media

US President Donald Trump has reportedly discussed two big-ticket military programs with one of his closest allies in the Indo-Pacific: the Golden Dome defense shield and the F-47 sixth-generation aircraft.

Trump discussed potential collaboration with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a phone call in May 2025 regarding the development of technology for the Golden Dome missile defense shield, Nikkei Asia reported. Japan is reportedly exploring support for the initiative, the report claimed.

Citing unidentified sources, the Japanese publication said that the two nations will likely collaborate on systems meant to intercept inbound threats. The report did not provide specific details about the discussions that took place between the two leaders.

Trump announced plans for the “Golden Dome” system in May 2025, saying it would cost around $175 billion and would become operational by the end of his term in 2029.

However, experts say the scheme faces huge technical and political challenges, and could cost far more than he has estimated in the public announcement. For instance, the Congressional Budget Office earlier estimated that the US might have to spend up to US$542 billion over 20 years to develop and launch the network of space-based interceptors under the program.

The US President may now be seeking potential partners who could share the cost of developing and operationalizing the Golden Dome, as well as developing sophisticated interceptors to counter missile threats.

Japan, on the other hand, could be a significant contributor to the system, given its previous experience in developing interceptors. Additionally, it could contribute funding or resources, such as research and development (R&D) or manufacturing, to offset costs.

Unveiling plans for the Golden Dome last month, Trump disclosed that Canada was interested in participating in the program. He said that while it “automatically” makes sense to include Canada in the new defence system, Canada will have to pay its fair share.

However, the President may have just thrown cold water over that potential collaboration by once again calling for Canada to become the 51st state of the United States of America.

“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost 61 billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network on May 29. “But (it) will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!”

For Japan, the Golden Dome would be an enticing offer, particularly since it has been grappling with an enhanced missile threat from China, North Korea, and Russia.

Japan and the US have previously collaborated on ballistic missile defense and are currently working together on the development of a hypersonic missile interceptor, known as the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI).

However, the Golden Dome might help Japan in more ways than one.

Citing unidentified sources, the report stated that Japan could use its participation in the Golden Dome initiative as a bargaining chip to obtain concessions in ongoing trade talks with Washington.

Trump has threatened to impose a 24% tariff on Japan starting next month unless a bilateral agreement can be reached.

Japan has been disgruntled by a 25% tariff on cars, trucks, and key auto parts that took effect in April. Additionally, Trump has increased the duties to 50% on all imported Japanese aluminum and steel. Both these tariffs could significantly weaken the Japanese economy.

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba has stated that bilateral conversations on trade expansion, non-tariff measures, and economic security are ongoing. At the same time, the administration is also considering an increase in its purchases of US military hardware, as well as collaboration on rebuilding and repairing US warships in Japan.

The Golden Dome would, thus, fit perfectly in this scheme if the Japanese government seriously considers it.

F-47 Also On Offer To Japan
A report published in the Japanese publication Asahi Shimbun last week stated that Donald Trump randomly brought up the F-47 in a call with Shigeru Ishiba last month. Sources in the Ishiba administration told the newspaper that the call took place on May 23 and was organized at Trump’s request.

Trump said the “47” in “F-47” is a good number, and asked Ishiba to concur, in what can only be described as typical Trump fashion of conversation. He also heaped praises on the F-22, which the US never sold to Japan due to the sensitivity of that technology, even though the latter wanted it. Trump then went on to talk about the F-55, an upgraded, twin-engine F-35 variant that he proposed during a presser in Qatar recently.

The President then asked Ishiba if he wanted to see the amazing fighter jets that the United States had, adding that he would get the “best” for Japan.

The report stated that Trump only casually inquired of Ishiba whether Japan was interested in purchasing US-made fighter jets and did not explicitly urge Japan to do so.

Nonetheless, the Trump administration has made no bones about its intention to pitch the aircraft in the export market.

During the F-47 announcement, Trump said that U.S. allies “are calling constantly” to obtain an export version of the NGAD fighter. We will sell it to “certain allies … perhaps toned-down versions. We’d like to tone them down about 10 percent, which probably makes sense, because someday, maybe they’re not our allies, right?”
The F-47 offer comes as Tokyo might be unhappy with its own Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), a sixth-generation combat jet being pursued jointly by Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Reuters reported on May 30 that Japan is growing doubtful that the GCAP will meet its 2035 rollout target, potentially forcing Tokyo to fill air defense gaps with upgrading existing fighters or purchasing new jets.

The fear of GCAP delays arises as China accelerates the testing of two sixth-generation fighter jet prototypes, namely the J-36 and the J-50. If China inducts a sixth-generation fighter by 2030, the capability gap between Japan and China will widen.

According to an infographic recently posted on X by US Air Force chief, General David Allvin, the F-47 is anticipated to become operational between 2025 and 2029—more than a decade before the GCAP’s rollout date if delays are factored in.

Since the end of the Second World War, Japan has only purchased American fighter jets and has been a loyal and important customer for the US, which explains why Trump would want it to consider the American F-35s instead. A purchase of the American sixth-generation fighter would also boost interoperability between the two allies, particularly in the volatile Indo-Pacific region.

3 Months After Tragic FA-50 Crash, The Philippines Signs Deal For 12 More Fighter Jets, Doubling Its Fleet

Amid rising security challenges in the South China Sea and Beijing’s increasing muscle flexing, the Philippines has decided to double its fleet of South Korean FA-50 fighter jets, signing a contract for 12 additional aircraft, following its initial purchase of 12 jets in 2014.

Notably, the deal was signed despite the Philippines grounding its entire FA-50 fleet earlier this year following the crash of an aircraft during a mission against communist rebels in March, in which two pilots were killed.

With ongoing tensions in the South China Sea (known as the West Philippines Sea in Manila), the Philippines intends to acquire 12 more light aircraft from South Korea at a cost of P40 billion (US$690 million), significantly enhancing its air capability.

However, questions were raised on the capability of the aircraft after the March crash. Now, these questions have been put to rest with the announcement of an additional order for 12 more aircraft.

“The Philippines has signed a contract for 12 more FA-50 fighter jets,” its South Korean manufacturer said on June 4.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) valued the deal with the Department of National Defense at $700 million, with delivery of the jets to be completed by 2030. The Philippines, which has yet to confirm the pact, previously purchased a dozen of the light warplanes in 2014.

In a statement, the South Korean firm said the fighter jets would feature enhanced capabilities including “aerial refueling for extended range, (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, and advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons systems”.

One of the Philippines’ original fleet of FA-50s went missing on March 4 while on a mission to provide air support for troops fighting guerrillas in a mountainous area of the southern island of Mindanao.

Rescuers found the wreckage of the plane and the bodies of two crewmen a day later.

After temporarily grounding the fleet, the Philippine Air Force ruled out any mechanical problems with the aircraft.

Air Force spokeswoman Maria Consuelo Castillo told a press conference in April that a confluence of factors had contributed to the crash, including mountainous terrain and visibility issues.

Castillo said in March that the purchase of additional FA-50s was under consideration by the defence department.

The Philippines has extensively used its FA-50 fleet in the fight against the Islamic State in 2017, called the “Marawi Siege,” and it was dubbed a “game changer” by the PAF officials. Currently, the fighter jets are also used in operations against the Communist rebels.

The Philippines is also using the jets in patrolling missions in the contested South China Sea.

In February this year, the Philippines’ FA-50 fighter jet fleet also took part in drills over the West Philippine Sea with the US B-1 “Lancer” bombers.

The exercise included maneuvering the aircraft within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The exercise aimed to strengthen interoperability between the two air forces, enhance air domain awareness, and improve agile combat employment capabilities.

The FA-50, a modern light combat aircraft, represents the PAF’s first line of defense in maintaining air superiority over the contested areas.

The latest FA-50 purchase comes at a time when the Philippines has virtually been pushed to the wall in the South China Sea. China has been conducting aggressive maneuvers against Filipino forces in disputed territories, occasionally assaulting and expelling them from waters that China considers its “territorial waters.”

Currently, the FA-50 is the only combat-capable aircraft in the PAF’s inventory. In fact, the service had earlier considered deploying the FA-50 to escort its patrol aircraft over the South China Sea last year. The FA-50 is based on the T-50, a trainer aircraft capable of supersonic flight that was modified from the F-16 to train pilots for the KF-16 and F-15K.

The FA-50 is predominantly designed for air defense, strike, and jet training missions.

Expanding Military Shopping List Of The Philippines
Manila is rapidly modernizing its armed forces to deter China and enhance its combat capability. The Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) earlier stated that it plans to buy 40 multi-role fighter jets, among other sophisticated weapon systems. Two aircraft have been offered to the country: the Saab Gripen-E and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70/72.

Notably, the latest FA-50 acquisition comes amid warnings from military analysts that the PAF is arguably the country’s least robust military component, highlighting the need for at least a dozen squadrons of multirole jets to protect the archipelago’s airspace effectively.

Earlier, the Philippines’ DND also confirmed that a P6.5 billion (US$110 million) deal for six Embraer Super Tucano light attack aircraft for the PAF’s 15th Strike Wing was signed in December 2024. The purchase is meant to reinforce the PAF fleet in the wake of the gap left by the decommissioning of the last two remaining Rockwell OV-10 Bronco light attack aircraft and two AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters.

In addition, the DND has announced the P1 billion (US$17 million) purchase of an aeromedical Bell 412 EPX helicopter for the Philippine Army’s use in emergency medical missions.

The country has also planned upgrades for various cyber systems of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as enhancements for the PAF’s ground-based air defense system and the introduction of new missiles.

In addition to the above-mentioned systems, the Philippines is reportedly considering the purchase of nine BrahMos missile batteries for its Army.

If finalized, this would be Manila’s second order of the BrahMos missile. In 2022, the Philippines signed a US$375 million deal with India for three batteries of the shore-based, anti-ship variant of the BrahMos missile for its naval forces.

Last year, Manila said it wanted to acquire the US Typhon mid-range missile system to bolster external defense capabilities.

Cornered by the PLA forces in the South China Sea, Manila is committed to spending at least 1.894 trillion pesos (approximately US$33.74 billion) to modernize and enhance its military capabilities by acquiring new systems, upgrading existing ones, and improving military infrastructure.

The deal for 12 additional FA-50 fighter jets will add crucial capabilities to the PAF.

Thailand Selects Gripen Fighter Jets Over F-16 Fighting Falcons For Its Air Force; Official Win For Swedish SAAB

Thailand on Wednesday announced plans to buy four Gripen fighter jets in a $500 million deal, choosing the Swedish-made planes over American F-16s as it renews its air combat fleet.

The Gripen E/F models, made by Nordic industrial giant Saab, will replace the Royal Thai Air Force’s older F-16 A/B jets bought in the 1980s.

The announcement is the first phase of a 10-year plan to buy 12 fighter aircraft as Thailand updates its air power.

“This is an important project to strengthen our force to protect our sovereignty,” Air Force Chief Punpakdee Pattanakul told reporters.

The procurement order will be submitted to the Thai cabinet for approval around mid-July and is expected to be finalized by the end of August.
A procurement committee recommended buying the Gripen rather than the F-16 last August after a 10-month process of deliberation. The kingdom already operates 11 older Gripens, as well as dozens of F-16s.

The decision to favour the Swedish fighter over the American one is unlikely to help Thailand’s efforts to reach a tariff deal with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Thailand is hoping to negotiate a reduction or relief from Trump’s threatened 36 percent levy, announced as part of the president’s sweeping global “reciprocal” tariffs.

Earlier, as EurAsian Times reported, the Royal Thai Air Force selected Gripen-E jets to replace its aging fleet of F-16A/B/B.

The RTAF announced the acquisition in a Facebook post on August 27 last year. The service stated that it wants to acquire Gripen-E/F, which is built by SAAB. The decision was reached after a careful evaluation conducted over ten months.

The RTAF concluded that the Gripen-E/F fighter jet has a capability range that meets the Air Force’s principled and strategic needs. The aircraft can be further developed, resulting in increased multidimensional operational capabilities. The text was machine-translated.

The RTAF had been evaluating the two fighters—the Swedish Saab Gripen-E and the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 —that were offered to it.

Earlier, in July 2024, an RTAF spokesperson said that the RTAF favored the Swedish jets after conducting a thorough evaluation that demonstrated the Gripen better met its needs.

“The procurement is in process [but is] dependent on the government,” the spokesperson said. However, the final decision was left to the Thai government.

Dutch opposition parties called Wednesday for fresh elections as soon as possible, a day after anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders sparked the collapse of the country's four-party coalition government.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof's 11-month-old administration fell apart when Wilders withdrew his Party for Freedom ministers. Schoof and the ministers of three remaining parties remain in power as a caretaker Cabinet.

The government, with limited powers, now has to lead the country for months before new elections and during what could — again — be protracted talks to cobble together a new coalition in the fragmented Dutch political landscape after the vote.

Lawmakers can declare some policy areas “controversial” during the caretaker period. That restricts the government from taking concrete action on those issues.
What happens now?

The Dutch electoral commission will schedule a general election for all 150 seats in the Second Chamber of parliament.

It is very unlikely to happen before the fall because of a parliamentary recess that starts July 4 and runs to Sept. 1 and that will be followed by several weeks of campaigning.

What does Schoof want?

In a statement to lawmakers, Schoof said he wants to keep control, even in caretaker mode, of vital policies over the coming months.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s about security, both nationally and internationally, including support for Ukraine and everything that’s needed for defense," he said.

He also wants to be able to act on the economy, including the global trade war unleashed since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, "because that can have a direct effect on the Dutch economy and on our business community.”

IDF Spokesperson Effie Deffrin says aid distribution is undermining Hamas as the IDF presses ahead with expanded operations.

IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen.Effie Deffrin said on Tuesday evening that Hamas’s grip on the Gaza Strip is weakening, as Israeli forces continue operations both above and below ground. “Hamas is losing control. It continues to operate against its own civilians,” Deffrin told the media. He emphasized that “the distribution of food severely harms Hamas and its rule. Tens of thousands of meals are distributed daily to Gazans,” he said.

Deffrin slammed Hamas for spreading false reports about IDF activity near aid distribution sites, which have been parroted by world media.

“[Hamas] spreads false information, which some Western media outlets have disseminated.”
“In recent days, armed individuals have attacked Gazans. In southern Khan Yunis, they harmed civilians who came to collect aid,” Deffrin said.

On Tuesday morning, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claimed that 24 Palestinians were killed by IDF fire while waiting near the aid distribution center in the Rafah area. Over the weekend, Hamas circulated a similar report claiming that 31 were killed.
Deffrin responded: “The report from the weekend was false,” noting that earlier on Tuesday, IDF soldiers fired warning shots near suspects about half a kilometer from the aid centers. “We do not prevent Gaza residents from reaching the distribution centers; it is Hamas that prevents them,” he clarified.

Deffrin also addressed criticisms of the IDF’s slow response to the incident, saying: “It takes time to investigate matters, but we will not report half-truths. Even if it takes time, we owe the truth first and foremost to our soldiers.”

The Pentagon plans to move its oversight of Greenland from U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, a switch that would bring the Denmark-aligned island closer to alignment with the United States.

The change, first reported by Politico, comes as President Trump has repeatedly expressed an interest in taking control of the autonomous territory, where the U.S. military houses a base. Trump on the campaign trail and after taking office has said the U.S. taking control Greenland is a national security issue.

Shifting the responsibility for U.S. security interests in Greenland to Northcom, the military command that oversees America’s homeland defense, would largely be symbolic but underscores Trump’s focus on the territory.

The move could come as soon as this week, a Defense Department official and two people familiar with the planning told Politico.
The Pentagon did not return a request for comment from The Hill.

Reports first emerged last month that the Trump administration was mulling the move as Greenland is part of the North American continent, even as it is associated with Europe politically and culturally given it is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

Trump in his first term floated the notion of buying Greenland, but in his second term has doubled down on the idea. He has declined to rule out using military force in taking the island.

“I don’t rule it out. I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said in a May 4 interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We need Greenland very badly,” he added. “Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care of and we’ll cherish them and all of that. But we need that for international security.”

Syria is able to proceed because it enjoys increased support from the US, as well as from Turkey and Qatar, both US allies.

Syria might integrate thousands of foreign fighters into its ranks under a new agreement, Reuters reported Monday. That possibility is being watched with interest in the region and also in the US and China.

The US has green-lighted the decision, which could lead to former fighters joining Syria’s new army, according to Levant24, an independent Syrian news site.

The Syrian army is growing every day and taking shape. The 56th Division had a graduation ceremony over the weekend for new trainees. It took place near Hama, one of Syria’s four largest cities. In addition, the 70th Division now contains elements of the US-backed Syrian Free Army that had been based at Tanf in southern Syria.
There are some controversies regarding the appointments to the new army. The new commander of the 86th Division operating in Deir Ezzor is a man named Ahmed al-Hayes, who previously was involved in human-rights abuses against Kurds.

As many as 3,500 foreign fighters, who some label “jihadists,” will be integrated into the 84th Division of the new Syrian army.
These fighters include Uyghurs who came to Syria as volunteers during the civil war. They are mainly from China or other Turkish-speaking areas. They are reputed to be members of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP). This group is banned by China and viewed as terrorists by Beijing.

TIP leader Abu Muhammad al-Turkistani received the rank of brigadier-general and command of the 133rd Division back in December 2024 when the new Syrian government was just taking shape after the fall of the Assad regime.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russia's Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported.

Kim pledged unconditional support for Russia's position on Ukraine and other international issues, the report said on Thursday.

"Kim Jong Un affirmed that the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will, in the future, too, unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies," it said, using the North's official name.

North Korea will responsibly observe the articles of the treaty between the two countries, Kim was quoted as saying.

The two men also discussed strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership and mutual cooperation in different fields.

The treaty was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang last year and a summit with North Korea's Kim, and includes a mutual defence pact for immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.

South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung vowed Wednesday to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan, as he laid out key policy goals for his single, five-year term.

Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea’s leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, began his term earlier Wednesday, hours after winning a snap election that was triggered in April by the removal of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year.

In his inaugural address at the National Assembly, Lee said that his government will deal with North Korean nuclear threats and its potential military aggressions with “strong deterrence” based on the South Korea-U.S. military alliance. But he said he would “open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation.”

He said he’ll pursue pragmatic diplomacy with neighboring countries and boost trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation.

"Through pragmatic diplomacy based on national interests, we will turn the crisis posed by the major shift in global economic and security landscapes into an opportunity to maximize our national interests,” Lee said.

Security and economic challenges lie ahead

It was unclear whether Lee’s election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea’s foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the U.S. and Japan, has recently repeatedly stressed South Korea’s alliance with the U.S. as the foundation of its foreign policy and avoided any contentious remarks that would raise questions on his views on the U.S. and Japan.

Opinion - Instead of nuclear weapons, give Poland a nuclear umbrella.

As the Polish electorate picks the country’s next president, questions about its nuclear future persist. Russia’s nuclear threats and insertion of nuclear arms into Belarus could create the impression that Poland is more exposed. In response, Poland could seek its own nuclear weapons, become a host for NATO weapons or turn to France and the United Kingdom for protection.

In March, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland must pursue “capabilities” related to nuclear weapons, and Andrzej Duda, the current president, has urged that U.S. nuclear arms be based in the country. Poland’s seeking to become nuclear armed would upset the West, but the other two options could be viable.

For over a decade, President Vladimir Putin has heightened nuclear threats to Europe. In 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, he said he was “ready” to bring nuclear arms into play. In 2018, Putin displayed on large video screens a simulated nuclear attack on Florida and a “super torpedo” that could render coastal cities uninhabitable.

In 2019, a new Russian ground-launched cruise missile led the U.S. to withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, with the support of NATO allies. In 2023, Russia began moving Iskander missiles into Belarus, and last June, the two states conducted joint nuclear exercises. In November, Putin said he had lowered the threshold for nuclear use.

NATO has called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric “dangerous” and said it was considering whether to put more stored missiles on standby. (The U.S. has no nuclear-armed missiles in Europe.) These modest responses could lead the Kremlin to wonder about the strength of the nuclear umbrella over NATO allies.

U.S. nuclear bombs in Europe are a visible expression of the umbrella. They are stored in five NATO states: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. Under the alliance’s “nuclear sharing” program, the bombs would be delivered by allied aircraft (stealthy F-35s, except F-16s for Turkey). Only the U.S. could authorize nuclear release.

Like West Germany in the Cold War, Poland today is the main NATO ally on the Central Front. In the Soviet era, NATO judged that U.S. nuclear-armed forces in West Germany were vital to deterring and defending against potential aggression. Similar logic is relevant to Poland today.

Poland and its nuclear-armed allies might choose among three options. It could try to acquire its own nuclear arms. Poland might join NATO’s nuclear sharing program as a basing country. And Warsaw might seek nuclear protection from France and the U.K.

The West would oppose Poland obtaining its own nuclear weapons. This would violate its obligations as a non-nuclear weapon state under the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. With 191 adherents, it is a centerpiece of the global security order.

Thus, the West assisted Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine in eliminating their leftover Soviet strategic arms and associated infrastructure, and the international community has condemned Iran and North Korea’s nuclear quests.

Polish acquisition of its own nuclear forces could also spur other states in complex security environments to seek nuclear arsenals. This could increase dangers to them, from deficiencies in warning, command and control, or survivable basing, and to neighbors through collateral damage.

The second option, becoming a basing country in NATO’s nuclear sharing program, has much to recommend it. Most importantly, it could reduce the risks that Russian leaders might misperceive Poland as vulnerable or unprotected.

Poland flies F-35s, which could be configured to deliver B-61 bombs. Unrefueled, Poland’s F-35s could penetrate deeper into Russia than aircraft from some other allies. Poland has sufficient geographic expanse for a survivable force.

Russia’s nuclear threats and full-scale war on Ukraine justify NATO’s suspending its 1997 assurance of no “intention, plan, or reason” to place nuclear arms in new member states. At that time, NATO said it and Russia did “not consider each other adversaries.” The security environment today is far different.

A third option has been gaining attention, in part because of uncertainty about the U.S. nuclear umbrella. Duda has voiced a recurring interest in a French nuclear umbrella. The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has called for nuclear talks with France and the U.K.

Past French attempts to develop concerted deterrence with Germany have been challenging. Unlike France, the UK participates in NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group and has “assigned” its nuclear forces to the defense of the alliance. Poland benefits from this.

France has a more ambiguous role in Europe’s nuclear deterrence. While France has long made clear that its vital interests have a European dimension, Paris is not interested in offering a nuclear sharing program similar to NATO’s. Providing nuclear reassurance to Poland could boost financial costs. Perhaps Poland could assist the French nuclear aviation mission, such as with training, refueling, or post-attack recovery.

Given these obstacles, some have suggested the creation of a French-U.K. joint venture to reassure Poland. A foundation exists. Since the Chequers Declaration of 1995, France and the U.K. have deepened nuclear cooperation.

Poland could decide to pursue both NATO nuclear sharing and protection from France and the U.K. From a military perspective, combined efforts might complicate Russian targeting and be a hedge against political disruptions.

China said that the United States needs to “stop spreading disinformation” and correct “wrongful actions” as the trade tensions between the two countries continue.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian claimed the U.S. “falsely accuses and smears” China and that Washington has taken “extreme suppression” measures. He listed “chip export controls, blocking EDA sales and announcing plans to revoke Chinese students’ visas” as actions that have “seriously disrupted the consensus and hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests.”

“China firmly opposes them and has lodged strong protests with the US,” Lin wrote in a Tuesday post on the social media platform X.

Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely talk “soon” — a conversation that will include discussing critical minerals.

China criticises Rubio remarks on 1989 Tiananmen protests-
The United States, in its commemoration of the Tiananmen protests in 1989, "distorted" historical facts and attacked China's political system, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

China has lodged a complaint to the U.S. side, Lin Jian, spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said at a regular news conference.

Chinese tanks rolled into the square on June 4, 1989, and troops opened fire to end pro-democracy demonstrations. The Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands.

"Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

"The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he

Trump is already lowering the bar on China tariffs blasting President Xi as ‘hard to make a deal with’

President Donald Trump appears to be lowering the bar on trade negotiations with China as he complained that President Xi Jinping is “hard to make a deal with.”

The president softened his tone in a Truth Social post shared in the early hours of Wednesday. “I like President XI of China, always have, and always will,” Trump said. “But he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!”

Last week Trump accused China of violating the terms of the agreement between the two countries. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” he said.

But his latest approach comes as the president is “obsessed with having a call with Xi,” a person familiar with the talks told Politico. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies are yet to speak on the phone to thrash out a deal.

Meanwhile, a former Trump official who remains close to the White House told Politico that the president “feels like a call between principals is a way to cut through a lot of this noise, and get right to the heart of the matter.”

President Donald Trump complained that Chinese President Xi Jinping is ‘hard to make a deal with’ in a Truth Social post. Trump has struggled to get the Chinese leader on the phone to thrash out a deal.
Obama’s assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Russel, told Politico that China “has a sharp nose for weakness, and for all his bravado, Trump is signaling eagerness, even desperation, to cut a direct deal with Xi.”

“That only stiffens Beijing’s resolve,” he added.

The trade war between the two countries has resumed after Trump accused China of violating the terms of the agreement. Beijing hit back Monday, accusing the U.S. of doing the same. The Trump administration revealed plans to revoke the visas of Chinese students and attempts to curb China’s access to the most advanced computer chips, which did not go down well.

“These practices seriously violate the consensus” of what was agreed in talks in Geneva two weeks ago, the Commerce Ministry said.

The leaders of the world’s two largest economies are yet to speak on the phone to thrash out a deal but ‘Trump is signaling eagerness, even desperation, to cut a direct deal with Xi,’ according to a former Trump official.
Now the talks are at somewhat of a standstill.

Trump believes he can break through to the Chinese leader, though the U.S. is trying to change a trade relationship worth $600 billion and doing so without losing too much political capital in the U.S.

The administration is “under a lot of pressure” following China’s critical minerals blockade, which blocks U.S. access to essential components in auto and electronics manufacturing as well as the production of munitions, a person familiar with the conversations told Politico.

Trump reduced tariffs on China last month from 145 percent to 30 percent.

Trump rocked as China launches its latest economic weapon.

The US and China have in recent days both accused each other of violating their fragile, three-week-old trade truce. The two presidents are expected to speak this week in an effort to rescue the deal.

But Trump has a tough pill to swallow: it is his arch-rival who looks to have the better negotiating hand.

China’s near-total dominance of the world’s supply of rare-earth metals – which are used in the manufacture of everything from cars and computer chips to F-35 fighter jets and nuclear-powered submarines – means Xi can squeeze the US where it hurts.

“Critical minerals are one of the most important bargaining chips for China in its negotiations with Washington. China will really hold on to this, as a significant point of leverage,” says Matilda Buchan, a senior analyst at Asia House, a London think tank.

Beijing’s willingness to weaponise the rare-earths supply chain is so potent a threat to the US economy and military that it has already pushed the White House into de-escalating its planned trade war with China.

After Trump’s April 2 “liberation day” announcement raised tariffs on US imports from China to an eventual peak of 145pc, Beijing’s retaliation included a ban on exports to the US of magnet alloys containing key rare-earth materials.

The impact was quickly felt. On May 9, some of the biggest carmakers in the US – including General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai – wrote to the White House warning that unless China’s export ban was lifted, they would soon have to start cutting back production.

That same day, Trump told his Truth Social followers that he was ready to make big concessions to get a deal with China. Negotiations in Geneva took place over the ensuing weekend, and the tariffs came tumbling down.

It emerged, more quietly, in subsequent days that China would allow rare-earths exports to the US to resume.

‘Major disruption’
Last Friday, though, Trump was back on Truth Social claiming that China had “TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US”.

Jamieson Greer, the president’s trade envoy, told CNBC that Beijing was “slow-rolling” its issuance of licences to export products containing rare earths.

“We haven’t seen the flow of some of those critical minerals as they were supposed to be doing,” he said.

The question is whether China is actively frustrating the deal, as some White House officials reportedly suspect, or whether the explanation is more mundane: not a grand conspiracy but simply a system coming to grips with new red tape.

Back in April, Beijing did not just slap a ban on exports, it built a new bureaucratic structure to underpin future rare-earths trade.

China-based companies wanting to export metal alloys containing more than a trace of seven key rare earths – samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, yttrium and scandium – now need to apply for a licence from the commerce ministry.

It was not initially clear which shipments would be caught by the new rules, and there was plenty of precautionary laboratory testing, even of exports that were below the rare-earth content threshold.

“What initially looked like an almost total freezing of exports from China was really just a response to this need for testing of all the material, and of any material which contained more than 0.1pc of any of these elements,” says David Merriman, the research director at Project Blue, a critical minerals analysis and advisory firm.

Project Blue’s analysis suggests the application process is taking about 45 days, which may explain why exports to the US have been slower than expected.

By mid-May, six large companies had received export licences, and at least another three were in the process of doing so.

“We are seeing some approvals come through, certainly slower than industry would like,” Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told Bloomberg this week.

“Some of the delay is related to China working through their new system to approve exports, not that they are not allowing exports.”

As part of the Geneva trade deal between the US and China, the commerce ministry has taken 28 US businesses off its export-control blacklist. But exports will still have to be approved on a shipment-by-shipment basis, and none is so far bound for the US.

Volkswagen’s European operations appear to have been an early beneficiary of an export licence, but not in sufficient quantities to ease supply concerns.

“There are a few approvals coming through, but they are far from being sufficient to prevent imminent production halts,” Jens Eskelund, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told the New York Times.

“We are still facing a major disruption of supply chains.”

Trump cornered
The threat of factory production lines grinding to a halt highlights the immense power of China in this crucial market, and the power of its hand in negotiations.

China’s mines churn out about 61pc of the world’s rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Chinese refiners and manufacturers also hoover up most of the rare earths from elsewhere, processing 92pc of the world’s supply.

It is refining that is key, as this is the process that turns the material into a usable product.

The country has a particular stranglehold on the manufacture of magnet alloys containing rare earths, which have near-ubiquitous application in computing, vehicular and electrical systems.

“Particularly as you move further down the supply chain, from mined products towards downstream highly engineered products, China’s market share only grows,” Merriman says. “Its grip only gets tighter.”

Rare earths are used in very small quantities, which means it has long been uneconomic for most countries to mine or refine them – most, that is, except China, where the industry is under state control.

The US has been spearheading sporadic efforts to restart rare-earths production and magnet manufacture either at home or in friendlier countries. But these efforts are yet to bear real fruit. The IEA estimates that a decade from now, China will still account for 85pc of refined rare-earths output.

This leaves Trump cornered. He has been talking up the prospects of Ukraine and Greenland as alternatives, but his presidency will be long gone before either of those becomes a realistic option. Tariffs are no use here either.

His only weapon is semiconductors. Over the past month, the US has been gradually tightening controls over China-bound exports of chips and associated software, particularly those used in artificial intelligence.

The chips squeeze is partly motivated by the White House’s long-term strategic desire to retain technological supremacy over China. But it also has some immediate tactical trade leverage – as Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, admitted on Sunday.

“[We are] taking certain actions to show them [the Chinese] what it feels like on the other side of that [export ban] equation,” he told Fox News.

This has riled Beijing. “The United States has unilaterally provoked new economic and trade frictions,” the Chinese commerce industry said in a statement on Monday. “These practices seriously violate the consensus.”

Despite the war of words, Lutnick claimed he was confident that Trump would “work it out” with Xi.

Perhaps his confidence is well-founded. With the US and Chinese tech and manufacturing industries hanging in the balance, a deal looks essential for both sides.

But Trump is in no position to dictate terms – and he won’t like that one bit.

Ukraine ‘Bombs’ Its Own Bombers? How Russia Acquired Kyiv’s Strategic Aircraft That SBU May Have Blasted

The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, managed to destroy multiple Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers in an audacious drone attack launched on June 1. Interestingly, several of these bombers were “deceitfully” acquired by Russia from Ukraine and Kazakhstan after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Ukraine launched the attacks under ‘Operation Spiderweb’ using 117 First Person View (FPV) drones that were smuggled into Russia, concealed in wooden containers with remotely operated roofs mounted on trucks.

These trucks, driven by individuals reportedly unaware of the cargo they were carrying, were positioned near the target air bases.

At the designated time, the container roofs were opened remotely, and the drones were launched to strike their targets. The SBU targeted four Russian military airbases simultaneously: Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo. The objective of this meticulously planned operation was to damage or destroy Russia’s long-range bombers that were regularly used for conducting air strikes against Ukrainian cities.

In the aftermath of the shocking attack, the SBU claimed the strikes damaged or destroyed 41 aircraft, including nuclear-capable Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 strategic bombers. “$7 billion: This is the estimated cost of the enemy’s strategic aviation, which was hit today as a result of the SBU’s special operation,” the security service said in a social media post.

While several pro-Russian military bloggers and military analysts denied the claims of extensive damage at first, the satellite imagery is now unravelling the hit that Russian assets have taken. Russia appears to have lost another A-50 Mainstay Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) aircraft. This is the third A-50, of which Russia has fewer than 10, to be lost in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In addition to the A-50, several independent Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) analysts confirmed damage to at least 13 bombers via satellite imagery and drone footage. This includes four to six Tu-95, about three Tu-22M3 bombers, and about two Tu-160.

Meanwhile, some pro-Ukrainian military bloggers allege greater damage.

A Ukrainian blogger who has been very active throughout the Ukraine War, Igor Sushko, wrote on X: Russians are reporting a loss of at least 18x Tu-95 ($250M each) & Tu-22 ($350M each) strategic bombers and 2x A-50 AWACS aircraft ($350M each).”

These figures could not be independently verified as the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) remains tight-lipped on the losses. However, we are certain that multiple Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 have either been destroyed or badly damaged.

This is not the first time that Russian long-range bombers have come under attack. In December 2022, in a first attack of that kind, some modified Soviet-era drones were launched by the Ukrainian military at two Russian air bases housing the Tu-95 and Tu-160. The attack was not as big and sophisticated as the latest one, but it did manage to take out at least one Tu-95 Bear.

The last two years have witnessed several incidents of attacks and sabotage against Russian bombers by Ukrainian intelligence and security forces. For example, Ukrainian forces attacked the Soltsy airfield in the Novgorod region in the summer of 2023, destroying a Tu-22M3 bomber using quadcopter drones—reportedly without even relying on satellite communications.

However, a tragedy of this scale is new. The loss of multiple Tu-95 bombers, in particular, is seen as a massive setback for the Russian long-range bomber force, as the aircraft has been out of production for several years.

This means that any loss confirmed by Russia would be a permanent one, with no way for the VKS to replenish the fleet. The Tu-95, along with the Tu-160, forms the backbone of Russian long-range strategic aviation.

The incident reignites memory of the time when Russia hatched a deceitful plan to secure about 40 Tu-95 bombers from the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan because Moscow did not inherit many after the fall of the Soviet Union. Incidentally, this significant piece of post-Soviet history was published widely by Ukrainian media about a month before Operation Spiderweb was launched.

How Did Russia Secure Tu-95 Bombers?
On December 25, 1991, the-then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from his position, and the Soviet Union’s hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time over the Kremlin. The day marked the collapse of the Communist Soviet Union, which had thrived for decades in the Eastern European bloc, in Central Asia, and beyond.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, several former Soviet states that had now become independent received the Soviet military equipment and munitions as inheritance.

Since the division of equipment was made in no particular order, Russia received a very small number of certain critical offensive platforms that would decide the course of its military thereafter. For one, it received a small number of strategic bombers.

Some other Soviet states inherited military equipment, munitions, or technology that they eventually had to relinquish. For instance, on December 5, 1994, Ukraine gave away its substantial stockpile of nuclear weapons in return for security that the US, the UK, and Russia would protect its territorial integrity.

The final nuclear warheads were handed over to Russia by July 1996. The US paid Ukraine around half a billion dollars to aid the effort.

After the Soviet collapse, Ukraine also inherited approximately 102 strategic bombers: 23 Tu-95MS, 19 Tu-160, and more than 60 Tu-22M3. But when it agreed to give up nuclear weapons, it also agreed to scrap or dismantle the majority of these bombers.

The rest of the bombers were eventually turned over to Russia because Ukraine faced challenges in maintaining and operating these strategic bombers due to economic constraints, a lack of spare parts, and geopolitical pressures.

This was a time when Ukraine needed gas and Russia needed bombers.

The final Tu-95MS strategic bomber was reportedly manufactured at the Kuybyshev Aircraft Plant in February 1992. The potential of Russia to produce such strategic aircraft was subsequently lost. In the past, Russia had seven Tu-95K training aircraft, 45 older Tu-95 K-22s, and approximately 22 to 27 Tu-95 MS bombers.

Therefore, to address the shortfall, Russia decided to acquire bombers from other former Soviet states that had inherited them.

Between 1999 and 2000, Kyiv transferred Tu-95 and Tu-160 as partial payments for natural gas debts, along with 575 Kh-55 missiles. These were the most operational aircraft and were quickly integrated into Russia’s air force. Ironically, these later became the bombers that launched devastating missile strikes on Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian media, the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan, which has been a close Russian ally, was another country that had inherited the strategic bombers that Russia wanted.

It surprisingly got the largest fleet of Tu-95MS bombers after the Soviet Union’s collapse. Of these, 27 were Tu-95MS-16s, which had external missile mounts, and 13 were Tu-95MS-6s with internal bay only.

All of Kazakhstan’s bombers were based at the now-defunct Semipalatinsk-2 airbase with the 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division. However, neither the division nor its resources were fully under the control of the newly formed Kazakh government.

This is where, as per Ukrainian media, Russia saw a window of opportunity.

In essence, Russia exploited Kazakhstan’s inexperience and the sluggishness of joint flight training protocols from the Soviet era.

While the Soviet Union was now a thing of the past, Russian and Kazakh bomber crews continued to fly together between Semipalatinsk-2 and the Ukrainka Air Base, Russia’s largest strategic long-range aviation base in the Far East.

According to one version of events, the Russians replaced the Kazakh Tu-95MS bombers that landed at Ukrainka with older Tu-95Ks as part of these joint flying operations. The Kazakh aircrews, who were either unaware or complicit, made the swap possible. By the time Kazakhstan discovered that older bombers had been returned to the country, it was too late to reverse what had happened.

Another account of the events suggests that there was no exchange of bombers, and Kazakh Tu-95MS bombers flew to Ukrainka as part of normal training exercises, and were forbidden to leave by Russia. Thus, the bombers were captured deceitfully.

EurAsian Times could not independently verify these claims due to a paucity of information from credible official sources. However, Ukrainian media reports stated that the information was based on Russian sources, which claimed that about 16-18 Tu-95 were stolen by Moscow at the time.

India-Pak War: China’s Military Satellites Helped Pakistan To Attack India; Delhi Works To Bridge The ‘Big Gap’ With Beijing (Part 2)

While it is a civilian navigation system, it is critical to China’s military. The system bulletproofs China’s military operations against disruptions by other military powers and provides the PLA with precision targeting capabilities.

Beidou-3 was completed in 2020 and consists of 35 satellites that provide global positioning, navigation, and timing services. This system enables the PLA to conduct military operations anywhere in the world without relying on GPS, thereby granting China a significant strategic advantage.

India Opening Space For Private Sector
In 2024, India enlisted private players to develop military-grade spy satellites for the country. The first in the series, built by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), was launched in April 2024.

Reconnaissance satellites monitor developments ranging from troop movements to missile launches from an altitude of 500 kilometers. The information is helpful for India to keep an eye on enemy assets during a military conflict and target them should the need arise.

India has been dependent on the US for getting reconnaissance data. The armed forces needed to give exact coordinates and timings for the foreign vendors to obtain imagery. The ground control will be set up in Bengaluru and used to process the imagery sent by the satellite.

Colonel Vinayak Bhatt, retired Indian Army official and seasoned image analyst, called it a “great move” and had told the EurAsian Times: “We also need more EO (Earth Observation) satellites with higher temporal resolution. We need more data downloading stations and more image analysts. Today, we require AI-assisted satellites that could give an analyst an added advantage over our adversaries.”

Earth Observation (EO) refers to the use of remote sensing technologies to monitor land, marine environments (including seas, rivers, and lakes), and the atmosphere. In the face of simmering tensions with China, India has launched a series of radar imaging satellites (RISAT), expanding the fleet from 12 satellites in 2019 to 16.

India had built RISAT-2 at an accelerated pace following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. It is India’s first dedicated reconnaissance satellite. The satellite was used for border surveillance, anti-infiltration, and anti-terrorist operations and was deactivated in October 2022.

RISAT-2B, launched in May 2019, is the third satellite in the series and mounts an indigenous X-Band radar. The satellite is used for obtaining high-resolution spot images with a resolution of approximately 0.5 x 0.3 m and has a mission life of five years. RISAT-2BR1 was launched in December 2019 from SDSC.

This satellite also has a five-year mission life and is used for similar purposes, with a resolution of just 0.35 m.

India-Pak War: China’s Military Satellites Helped Pakistan To Attack India; Delhi Works To Bridge The ‘Big Gap’ With Beijing (Part 1)

It is no news that China supported Pakistan with military hardware during the recent military confrontation with India. However, less discussed has been the support the constellation of Chinese satellites provided in terms of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) to Islamabad, and how New Delhi countered it by mobilizing all its military and civilian assets in space.

The Indian military is taking incremental steps to build its own constellation of 52 satellites over the next five years, aiming to enhance its capability to spy from space. However, the ambitious plan hit a speed bump as the attempt to position the NVS-02 satellite in its intended orbit was not achieved due to a failure in the satellite’s onboard thrusters.

Launched on January 29, 2025, aboard the GSLV-Mk 2 rocket, this mission marked ISRO’s 100th launch from the Sriharikota spaceport.

The satellite is a crucial component of India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system, which aims to provide accurate positioning services across India and extend up to 1500 km beyond its borders.

“We pulled all the resources (civilian and military space assets) and gave them to the armed forces. We were virtually looking at each other all the time. We had gaps, but we were much better,” a source familiar with the matter told the EurAsian Times about the space-based reconnaissance during the Indo-Pak war. The source admitted that India has gaps, and its space capabilities in comparison to China are currently inadequate.

In fact, the purported “kill chain” achieved by Pakistan with the help of Chinese space assets has been cited as the reason behind the alleged downing of India’s fighter jets. The official conceded that China is far ahead when it comes to space assets.

“They have 4-5 times more assets than us. The Chinese have 7 geo-stationary satellites. They are able to see all the time. But the resolution is lower. They are critical for their maritime security,” the official added.

China’s space architecture includes multiple layers of infrastructure, ranging from low-Earth orbit satellites to ground control stations, all of which are interconnected to form a resilient network.

The Chinese can see all the time, but their satellites have limitations of bandwidth, duty cycle, and orbit configuration. However, despite its space assets, China was unable to help Pakistan pinpoint key Indian assets, such as the S-400 Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile System.

According to comprehensive databases, such as the one published by Keep Track, China is associated with approximately 5,330 satellites in orbit. The United States leads with about 11,655 satellites, and Russia follows with around 7,187 satellites.

Here, satellites include objects launched for commercial, scientific, military, and joint international purposes—even if they involve non-government actors—and sometimes even defunct spacecraft that are still tracked in orbit. In comparison, India has 218 satellites.

It is challenging to pinpoint precise details about the military reconnaissance satellites China operates; however, open-source information suggests that China has approximately 30 to 40 active reconnaissance satellites.

Most of these are from the Yaogan series, specifically designed to provide imaging and other forms of signals intelligence for China’s military. As many satellites have dual use and certain assets are kept secret by the Chinese government, the total number of military satellites could be higher.

The Yaogan series— including the launch of Yaogan-41 indicates a continuing expansion in capability and numbers for China.

Yaogan-41 Ensures No One Escapes China’s Spy Satellites
The remote sensing satellite Yaogan-41 was launched into geostationary orbit (GEO) on December 15, 2023. The satellite is expected to allow continuous surveillance of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as Taiwan and Mainland China.

According to the Chinese government, Yaogan-41 is a civilian high-altitude optical remote-sensing satellite intended for crop yield estimation, environmental management, weather forecasting, and disaster prevention.

However, Western analysts observe that alongside other Chinese surveillance satellites, Yaogan-41 purportedly gives China an unprecedented ability to identify and track objects as small as cars throughout the entire Indo-Pacific region, putting the US and other countries’ naval and air forces in the region at risk.

The majority of surveillance satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit, as it is easier and cheaper to put satellites into LEO. Also, satellites in LEO produce sharper resolution as it is closer to Earth. However, the major drawback of LEO satellites is a lack of continuity, which is important for surveillance.

A satellite in LEO takes less than two hours to orbit the Earth. So, it can only oversee a given spot on Earth for a few minutes. Also, due to orbital mechanics, it may take hours or days for that satellite to revisit the same spot again. However, a constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) can help reduce the revisit time.

On the other hand, satellites in GEO orbit are at the same rate as the Earth. This means that they view the Earth as if it is stationary. Only GEO provides a satellite, like Yaogan-41, with a continuous view of the same place. An added advantage is that a GEO satellite from its altitude of 36,000 km can see almost half of Earth’s surface.

The Yaogan satellites also play a crucial role in supporting China’s missile forces, providing the data needed for accurate targeting of long-range ballistic and cruise missiles.

There are several geosynchronous satellites, but they are primarily dedicated to weather forecasting and utilize low-resolution remote sensing systems for tracking large cloud formations and storms. Only China and India operate high-resolution optical GEO satellites; however, India’s system features a multi-spectral payload, unlike its Chinese counterparts, which carry a visible light optical imager.

India’s Baby Steps To Space
India had woken up to the strategic importance of space assets in warfare during the Kargil War when the US’s denial of GPS left its soldiers high and dry as they were trying to push the Pakistani insurgents from their entrenched positions. However, work has been going at a snail’s pace.

“It has been only in the last couple of years that India has awakened to the military implications of space, and the Indian armed forces have started claiming ownership of it. IAF has realized the utilisation of Kautilaya (an indigenously developed Electronic Intelligence system),” the official added.

India established the Defense Space Agency in 2019, which is slated to evolve into a fully fledged Space Command. The IAF has envisioned India having over 100 military satellites, both large and small, within the next seven to eight years, with active participation from the private sector.

To keep pace with global developments, the IAF is gradually expanding its mission scope from offensive and defensive counter-air operations to operations in the space domain. As part of this transition, the existing Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) will evolve into the Integrated Air and Space Command and Control System (IASCCS).

The government, on its part, has been shortening the launch time for military satellites. The DRDO’s project Kautilya added to India’s space surveillance capability.

The 436-kg satellite, placed in a 749-km orbit, helps the Indian armed forces pinpoint the location of enemy radars by detecting the electromagnetic signals they emit. In the making for about eight years, it carries instrumentation capable of detecting, locating, and characterising electromagnetic signals, specifically of military radars.

India’s premier intelligence-gathering satellite, EMISAT, has taken a good look at the positions of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in occupied Tibet.

India also has an ELINT satellite, launched in 2019, which underscored its usefulness by passing over the PLA position in Tibet near Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 29 satellites, including EMISAT, from the US, Lithuania, Spain, and Switzerland. This was the first time the Indian space agency launched these satellites in three different orbits.

The launch of the electronic spy satellite was a significant achievement for India; China has already been using ELINT satellites in triplets, as a single satellite will not be enough to pinpoint a target.

At least three of them are required to receive electronic transmissions from a target on the ground and locate it through triangulation. A typical ELINT satellite constellation consists of three satellites in orbit, flying in a triangular formation with an orbit inclination of 63.4 degrees.

The recent launch failure to place NVS-02 in its designated orbit is a setback for India’s NAVIC navigation system. China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System is central to China’s space architecture.

“Sitting Ducks” For Ukraine! How 2010 U.S.-Russia Treaty Helped Kyiv’s UAVs Destroy Russian Nuclear Bombers?

On June 1, the world witnessed the Kalashnikov moment of Drone Warfare. While military watchers had been warning for some time that drone warfare had arrived, if anyone had any doubts, they were cleared in the spectacular Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airbases that might have knocked out 34% of its long-range strategic bomber fleet.

By smuggling 117 low-cost FPV drones into Russia, Ukraine claims that it has destroyed 41 Russian strategic bombers, including the Tu-95, Tu-160, Tu-22, and AEW&C A-50.

Kyiv claims that Russian losses amount to over USD 7 billion.

However, ever since the spectacular videos of the flimsy, low-cost drones rising vertically from trucks and destroying strategic bombers parked in open in Russian air bases appeared on social media, many people are questioning why long-range bombers, worth millions of dollars and part of the Russian nuclear triad, were parked in the open like sitting ducks with little to no protection?

Moreover, long-range bombers like the Tu-22 and Tu-95 are Soviet-era legacy aircraft that are no longer in production, which enhances their strategic value and makes replacement nearly impossible.

Despite this strategic significance, why these high-value targets were not parked in shelters is a question that is bewildering many.

In fact, rather than being parked in shelters or under well-protected concrete structures, these aircraft were parked in plain sight of satellites, on open tarmac in clearly marked bays, making them easily detectable by US/NATO spy satellites.

As strange as it may sound, Russian bombers could have been parked in the open for exactly this reason: so that they can be spotted or detected by US satellites.

In the aftermath of the Ukrainian strikes, many people, including military veterans, pointed out on social media that nuclear-capable bombers are to be parked in the open under the obligations of a bilateral treaty with the US.

New START Treaty & Implications For Heavy Bombers
Former US Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn, who also served as the 24th national security advisor under the first Trump administration, noted that the Russian bombers could have been parked in the open due to nuclear treaty obligations.

“FYI, those bombers that were hit HAVE to be out in full view due to nuclear treaty obligations. Zelenskyy took advantage of that,” General Flynn noted on X.

His post generated heated discussions on social media about whether Russian obligations under a bilateral treaty with the US might have helped Ukraine in targeting the Russian strategic bombers.

The nuclear treaty General Flynn was referring to was the New START Treaty signed between the US and Russia in 2010.

The bilateral treaty was signed to reduce and limit strategic nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia, enhancing global security and stability. Signed on April 8, 2010, in Prague by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, it replaced the expired START I treaty and the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT).

The treaty aimed to reduce nuclear arsenals and enhance verification and transparency.

It set verifiable limits, capping deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550, deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and heavy bombers at 700, and total deployed and non-deployed launchers at 800.

The treaty also established a robust inspection and verification regime, including on-site inspections, data exchanges, and telemetry sharing, to ensure compliance and build trust between the two nations, which hold over 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.

The treaty covers ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers. The Russian Tu-160 and Tu-95 are both covered under the category of heavy bombers and are mentioned explicitly in the treaty.

Article 8, clause C of the treaty states that existing types of heavy bombers are:

For the United States of America, the B-52G, B-52H, B-IB, and B-2A.
For the Russian Federation, the Tu-95MS and Tu-160.
Further, Article IV of the treaty states that

Each Party shall:

(a) Deploy launchers of ICBMs only at ICBM bases;

(b) Deploy heavy bombers only at air bases.

There are many other restrictions on Heavy bombers in the treaty. For instance:

“Each Party shall base test heavy bombers only at heavy bomber flight test centers. Non-deployed heavy bombers other than test heavy bombers shall be located only at repair facilities or production facilities for heavy bombers.”

“Each Party shall not carry out at an air base joint basing of heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments and heavy bombers equipped for non-nuclear armaments, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.”

Also, “Strategic offensive arms shall not be located at eliminated facilities except during their movement through such facilities and during visits of heavy bombers at such facilities.”

Under the treaty, both parties also need to release data on deployed nuclear warheads on strategic bombers, as well as on non-deployed strategic bombers.

For the sake of verification and transparency, both parties were given the right to inspect each other’s nuclear-capable assets. The inspection involves both on-site and off-site inspections.

It is clear that under this treaty, both sides have to release data on the number of nuclear-capable heavy bombers, as well as on their locations. Furthermore, there are restrictions on where these heavy bombers can or cannot be placed. Both parties have the right to inspect and verify the authenticity of the provided data.

The protocols for inspection further state that “heavy bombers shall be photographed without tarpaulins or covers.”

Another important clause in the treaty puts the obligation for “Non‑Interference with National Technical Means (NTM).”

“The treaty permits the use of national technical means of verification (e.g., satellites) in a manner consistent with international law, and contains explicit provisions that prohibit interference with NTM and the use of concealment measures that may impede monitoring by NTM.”

The verification by means of satellites meant that the heavy bombers were often parked in the open, in full glare of spy satellites.

So, while the treaty does not explicitly demand that the heavy bombers be parked outside, this became a usual practice.

“Russia, like the US, often leaves long-range bombers parked outside and easily visible, both for operational reasons and as part of nuclear-treaty obligations,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

The treaty also means that the data on the number of heavy bombers and their location is often publicly available.

However, it is worth noting that Russia suspended its participation in the New START treaty in February 2023. Still, the old treaty will remain in force, at least legally, until February 5, 2026.

So, it is clear that Russia was not obligated to park its heavy bombers in the open. However, the terms of the treaty and its complex inspection protocols meant that it became the usual practice.

In fact, not just Russia, even the US often parks its strategic bombers in the open.

The spectacular Ukrainian attack and the devastating blow it has delivered to the Russian heavy bomber fleet are a wake-up call not just to Moscow but to the US as well.

“Very costly U.S. Strategic Bombers can be taken out in the same way by anyone with access to inexpensive drones, delivery trucks, explosives, and a bit of technical knowledge (not good and new tactics will now have to be developed).”

“People, and especially world leaders, need to realize the global implications to such an operation as Ukraine just pulled off,” former US General Flynn warned in his post.

“Alleged” Chinese Laser Weapon Spotted In Russia Very Similar To One Deployed In Iran; Is Beijing Arming Moscow?

A day before all hell broke loose over Russian airfields with a shocking Ukrainian drone attack that destroyed multiple strategic bombers, some pro-Russian military sources published the video of what is believed to be a Chinese-origin anti-drone laser system operating in Russia.

The alleged Chinese system was spotted in a video initially posted to the Military Information Telegram channel. It has now been shared extensively on X.

The video opens with a shot of Russian troops operating the system and pressing some tabs. Then, the frame shifts to laser system testing against a steel plate, followed by footage of the shooting down of unidentified Ukrainian drones.

Social media has since been replete with claims that the system in question is named ‘Low-Altitude Laser Defending System’ (LASS) and has been provided to the Russians by China.

The LASS is also reportedly known as the Silent Hunter. It is a turret-mounted platform equipped with optical targeting sensors and a 10 kW laser, believed to be developed by the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics.

If true, the video would be the first documented instance of the Chinese laser system being used operationally against Ukraine.

The Telegram channel gave no information on when the video was taken. However, it noted that the technology is currently being operated by the Nomad special forces squad.

The EurAsian Times could not independently corroborate these claims, and China has categorically denied providing offensive weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.

There is no official confirmation by either side.

Nonetheless, several military observers have noted that the system shown in the video bears an uncanny resemblance to the laser system that China had earlier delivered to Iran.

In October last year, a Chinese laser counter-drone system–identified as Shen Nung– was spotted in Tehran, Iran, during a sermon given by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The system was spotted days after Iran launched missiles and a drone strike on Israel, and was likely deployed to protect the Supreme Leader from a potential Israeli attack at the time, as previously reported.

Fabian Hinz, a research fellow for Defense and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also noted that the system spotted in Russia appears to be a Chinese Shen Nung 3000/5000.

Hinz commented: “While the sensor arrangement seems to have been altered, the system observed in Russian service strongly resembles the Chinese Shen Nung 3000/5000 anti-drone laser.” “The Shen Nung system comes in both vehicle-mounted and containerized variants, and has previously been exported to Iran,” he added.

It is difficult to determine whether the system depicted in the video is a Silent Hunter or a Shen Nung.

As previously reported by the EurAsian Times, Shen Nung’s radar can identify drones from a distance of up to five kilometers. The system’s laser has a power range of 10 to 20 kW and can fire non-destructive, “dazzling” or blinding attacks over a distance of more than three kilometers. It can also really destroy some objects that approach within 1.5 kilometers.

The Shen Nung 5000 and 3000, which are containerized and 4×4 Dongfeng Mengshi light tactical truck-mounted versions of the Shen Nung, have also been shown off by China in the past.

The system seen in the Telegram video could be a variant of Shen Nung or a separate system based on it. These remain mere conjectures due to the paucity of information, and Russia is not officially known to have a system that resembles Shen Nung.

The substantial expenses associated with intercepting drones and missiles have led to an increased focus on laser-based systems in modern warfare. Typically, laser-based counter-drone systems employ a high-powered beam to engage targets at a significantly lower cost than air defense missiles, which can cost millions of dollars.

Additionally, lasers can discreetly incinerate adversarial targets without inflicting collateral damage, thereby reducing casualties. The video published by the Telegram channel suggests that the system works well against drones, unlike the spotting in Iran, where the system was photographed in the background, not in action.

“Previously, there was an opinion in the domestic information environment that combat lasers were useless and expensive toys,” the Military Informant Telegram channel wrote. “However, new threats identified during the full-on invasion of Ukraine forced the search for alternative methods of counteraction. Thanks to the development of new technologies, laser systems have become an effective tool for the destruction of Ukrainian UAVs.”

Russia has also been working on incorporating lasers into its combat capabilities. The country was earlier believed to have two different laser weapons in its arsenal, the Persevet and Zadira.

However, there is not much information about their use in combat. In August 2023, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that Russia had conducted successful field tests of an unnamed laser gun, destroying several drones of various types.

In a separate development earlier this year, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov, announced that the Pantsir air defense system will soon be outfitted with a laser complex as part of ongoing modernization efforts.

Ironically, the video of the alleged Chinese laser system was posted just a day before Ukraine launched an audacious drone attack under ‘Operation Spiderweb,’ and allegedly destroyed 40 Russian aircraft or 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers.

Ukraine’s security service has put the estimated cost of losses at $7 billion. The drone attacks were launched from trucks that were smuggled deep inside the Russian territory. The attack was so bad that some pro-Russian military bloggers called it the country’s “Pearl Harbor.”

China Denies Arms Delivery To Russia
Citing reporting by Ukrainian security and intelligence agencies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in April accused China of supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery. He also told the media that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory.

“We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. … We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on Russian territory … We see the cooperation between these two countries in this area, and we must acknowledge it is happening,” the President was quoted.

The claims were dismissed as “groundless” by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “China’s position on the Ukrainian issue has always been clear,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference at the time. “It has been actively committed to promoting a ceasefire and ending the conflict, as well as encouraging peace talks.”

More recently, the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service, Oleh Ivashchenko, said in an interview on May 26 that he could confirm China is supplying critical materials and equipment to about 20 Russian military factories. “There is information that China supplies tooling machines, special chemical products, gunpowder, and components specifically to defence manufacturing industries,” he said. Thus, assisting production of weapons, particularly drones, in Russia.

Reports from Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service and other sources have noted on multiple occasions that China supplies up to 80% of the electronics used in Russian drones, including critical components like machine tools, special chemicals, and gunpowder for ammunition production. These are often dual-use items, which China claims are for civilian purposes but are repurposed for military use.

Last year, an intelligence assessment released by the Biden administration had also made overarching claims about Chinese military assistance to Russia, particularly in the supply of microelectronics, which are used in the production of missiles, tanks, aircraft, and other weaponry used against Ukraine.

The transfer of high-value equipment, such as a laser anti-drone system, from China to Russia is not documented. The latest video could be direct evidence of China arming Russian forces if the system is verified to be Chinese.

Azerbaijan, That Backed Pakistan Against India During Recent Clash, Looks To Broker Turkey-Israel Peace

After seizing Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia in 2023 and backing Pakistan against India during the recent India-Pak clash, Azerbaijan is now using its close relations with Israel and Turkey to defuse tensions between the regional competitors in Syria.

In May 2025, Azerbaijan emerged as a vocal supporter of Pakistan amid escalating tensions with India, following the Indian military operation, “Operation Sindoor,” launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir that claimed 26 lives.

Azerbaijan issued formal statements condemning India’s military strikes, which targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

On May 8, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with Pakistan, lamenting civilian casualties and urging a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

A letter from the Azerbaijani government, delivered by Ambassador Khazar Farhadov to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reiterated this support, offering condolences to affected families and emphasizing Azerbaijan’s commitment to Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Diffusing Israel-Turkey Tensions
Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser, Hikmet Hajiyev, confirmed that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Turkey and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organised by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council.

“Both Turkey and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad by Islamist-led HTS rebels, with Turkey’s blessing, sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons from falling into the hands of Syria’s new authorities, whom it sees as jihadists.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

As a close ally and strategic partner of Turkey, Azerbaijan has consistently aligned itself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

But it also enjoys good relations with Israel — which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Turkey and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern because of the presence of terrorist groups,” notably Kurdish fighters, he said.

Turkey wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

Oil Shipments To Israel?
Ties between Turkey and Israel have been shattered by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, with Ankara insisting the talks were only technical.

“As long as the war in Gaza continues, Turkey will not normalise ties with Israel,” a senior Turkish official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Turkey has suspended trade with Israel over the war in Gaza.

However, some Turkish opposition figures have criticized Ankara, claiming that trade has continued, notably oil shipments via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports Azerbaijani oil to the southern port of Ceyhan, from where it is shipped to Israel.

Turkey’s energy ministry has dismissed the claims as “completely unfounded”.

Azerbaijan’s Hajiyev said Baku had won valuable support from Israel during the Karabakh conflict, but seemed reluctant to comment on the issue of oil.

“We bought weapons from Israel during the war, we paid for them (and) Israel gave us diplomatic support,” he said.

“Azeri oil is coming to Ceyhan, but once that oil is loaded onto ships that sail on the open seas, you cannot control the final destination,” he said.

“These are the rules of the world oil market.”

Big Role
In facilitating Turkey-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role”, said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of the Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator… among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region — one in the 1990s and another in 2020 — before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.

Baku is now trying to normalise ties with Yerevan — which, if successful, would be a major breakthrough in a region where major actors, including Russia and Turkey, all jostle for influence.

Turkish analyst Serkan Demirtas said Azerbaijan had stepped in to head off a potential clash between Turkey and Israel over their opposing security concerns in post-Assad Syria.

“A confrontation between its two best allies in the region is a situation Azerbaijan does not want at all,” he said.

“Incoming news shows that progress has been made. This indicates the growing influence of hydrocarbon-rich Azerbaijan in the region after the Karabakh war.”

Israel declines hostage deal talks in Qatar after Hamas demands changes.

An Israeli official said, however, that "negotiations have not stopped, efforts of the mediators still continue."

Israel will not send a delegation to Qatar after Hamas requested changes to the US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff's outline for a hostage deal, Israeli media reported Tuesday.

An Israeli official said, however, that "negotiations have not stopped, efforts of the mediators still continue."

Israel is making it clear that, despite Hamas' apparent "willingness" to continue negotiations, in practice, there is no change in the group's position, and that the gaps with the Witkoff proposal remain.

Hamas's response does not include a serious reference to the Witkoff proposal and presents new demands that deviate greatly from the Israeli line, Israeli sources said.

The additional demands include a ceasefire of up to seven years, a complete IDF withdrawal from the areas occupied since March, and the cancellation of the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

"Israel has agreed to the Witkoff framework as proposed – that is the official position," a diplomatic source clarified. "Despite Hamas' statements, there has been no significant change."

Sources in Israel added that Hamas's willingness to return to negotiations is seen as a purely tactical move designed to improve its international image.

"This is not an answer - it is a slammed door. Hamas's response only distances us from an agreement," Witkoff said in response to Hamas's demands.

Tension between mediators US, Egypt
The US, Qatar, and Egypt are continuing mediation efforts in line with the Witkoff proposal.

However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati held a phone call with Witkoff on Sunday that, according to Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, was significantly and noticeably tense, reflecting Egypt's growing concerns that the war in Gaza will become an open war of attrition.

Egypt is concerned that the IDF's continued military activity, particularly in Khan Yunis, will result in a redrawing of the demographic map in the south of Gaza, and the gradual pushing of Palestinians towards the border with Egypt, posing a direct threat to the country's national security, Abdel Ati told Witkoff.

Additionally, Abdel Ati reportedly did not hesitate to blame Washington for part of the failure of the negotiations, as well as criticizing the way the US administration is conducting the negotiations.

Witkoff has asked American-Palestinian businessman Bishara Bahah to remain in Doha and continue talks with Hamas, in the hope that his presence will avoid a sense of finality or disconnect between the parties.

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Coming days 'critical' for Gaza deal progress, Qatar, Egypt hold significant weight.

Security sources stressed that the coming days are critical for the prospects of progress in a deal, and that mediators have a crucial role.

Increased involvement by Qatar and Egypt amid a deadlock in hostage deal negotiations could help narrow gaps between the sides, with the coming days considered critical for progress, senior Israeli officials told Walla Monday.

This was previously achieved during proximity talks and negotiations for the previous hostage deal held in Doha.

A security source emphasized that a distinction should be made between the “Qatargate” affair and the suspicions against Israeli citizens, and separating this from Qatar's role as a hostage deal mediator.

“This is an internal Israeli matter that must be separated from Qatar’s role as a mediator, alongside the Egyptian mediator,” the source said.

He stressed that the coming days are critical for the prospects of progress and that the mediators have an important role to play.

Against this backdrop, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir visited the Gaza Strip on Sunday for a series of meetings with commanders in regular service and reservists. The visit took place while the US continues efforts to advance negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a hostage deal.

Deadlock in hostage talks would lead to further IDF ground operations in Gaza
A US announcement of a deadlock would prompt the government to instruct the IDF to move to an advanced stage of ground operations toward significant areas where the IDF has not operated so far, and such a move could increase pressure on Hamas leadership.

Sources in the security establishment estimate that in the coming days, a decision will be made regarding the negotiations for a hostage deal. At that point, it will be determined whether the IDF will expand its operations in the Gaza Strip significantly.

At the end of his tour, the chief of staff promised to review the numerous comments and questions raised by reservists. Some of the reservists present at the meeting have been mobilized for the sixth time since the start of the war. They urged the army commanders to “defeat Hamas this time.” If that is not the intention, they requested clarity as soon as possible regarding the duration of their upcoming reserve duty.

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Israel, Hamas continue Gaza hostage deal talks despite significant gaps.

Hamas demands US guarantees that negotiations for a deal, including a ceasefire, will continue after the initial 60-day period, a source told the Post.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US, are ongoing despite significant gaps, a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, met with senior Hamas officials based in Doha. These officials emphasized that Hamas demands US guarantees that negotiations for a deal, including a ceasefire, will continue after the initial 60-day period, the source told the Post.

Efforts are being made to reach new understandings with Hamas before Eid al-Adha, which begins this Friday. In Doha, Dr. Bishara Bahbah, an envoy of Steve Witkoff, continues to engage with senior Hamas officials.

The mediators, Egypt, Qatar, and the US administration, are working to advance a deal or at least secure agreements between the parties despite the challenges.

Israeli officials note that following Egypt and Qatar’s announcement on Sunday regarding their efforts to reach a deal, Hamas also issued a statement, signaling its interest in an agreement. However, Hamas proposed a framework significantly different from Witkoff's original plan, which included the release of 10 hostages within a week.

Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza and supporters protest calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, outside the US Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025.
“The military operation is intensifying, aid is entering without Hamas’s control, and the terrorist organization is under pressure,” an Israeli source told the Post. “Within a week, Hamas presented two proposals, which were both rejected by Witkoff, and it will gradually realize that Witkoff's framework is the only deal on the table.”

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Hamas cease-fire counteroffer: Let us survive
Hamas on May 31 announced it had “responded to” the latest ceasefire proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, apparently seeking assurances that Israel won’t simply go back to eliminating it when the 60-day pause is up.

Strikes, roadblocks bring Panama to near standstill

Panama is facing one of its most intense social crises since the return to democracy in 1989, with nearly 40 days of nationwide protests, strikes and roadblocks sparked by a controversial pension reform law approved by President José Raúl Mulino's administration.

The protests escalated April 23, when the national teachers' union launched an indefinite strike. Construction workers and banana industry laborers soon joined, expanding the demonstrations nationwide.

Mulino has taken a hard stance, referring to some unions as "mafias" and insisting he will not repeal the pension law, which he says is necessary to preserve the system's financial viability.

On Monday, Mulino sent a delegation of seven cabinet ministers to Bocas del Toro province, the center of the protests, and offered to draft a bill restoring labor benefits for banana workers, provided the roadblocks are lifted.

"The minute they permanently lift the strikes, that law goes to the Assembly," he said.

The proposal had little effect. Banana workers and other protest groups responded by intensifying demonstrations.

Protesters are demanding the repeal of the law, which raises the retirement age, increases worker contributions and separates new individual accounts from the collective pension fund.

They also oppose a security cooperation agreement with the United States that allows the use of former military bases in Panama and the possible reopening of the Cobre Panamá copper mine -- shut in 2023 after being declared unconstitutional. Such a potential reopening has reignited environmental and social protests.

U.S.-based Chiquita Brands has emerged at the center of the crisis. The company announced it would shut its banana operations in Changuinola, a key production hub in the Caribbean province of Bocas del Toro near the Costa Rica border.

A few days ago, after a full work stoppage by employees protesting the new pension law, Chiquita Panama and Ilara Holding fired 4,900 workers for job abandonment and said the company had lost more than $75 million, with irreversible damage to banana production.

Panama's Labor Minister Jackeline Muñoz said the company plans to lay off its remaining workers this week.

"They are filing a request to terminate more than 1,600 workers. There won't be a single employee left on the company's payroll," she said.

In 2024, Panama's Social Security Fund, which operates under a model of pooled resources, reported a deficit of nearly $900 million, placing a significant burden on the system.

The situation has worsened due to a decline in active contributors, as new workers are entering a mixed system with individual retirement accounts.