Daily Archives: April 6, 2022

Senator Rosen: I am honored to be appointed to the Senates bipartisan NATO Observer Group to work alongside my colleagues to reaffirm the United States enduring commitment to NATO

WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that she has been appointed as one of three new members to join the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group at a time when the Alliance is playing a critical role in coordinating the response to Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Senate NATO Observer Group has a mission to closely monitor and inform Senators about defense spending commitments of Alliance members, the process of upgrading military capabilities, the Alliances counter-terrorism capability, NATO enlargement, and the ability of NATO member states to address non-conventional warfare. Re-established in 2018, the Senate NATO Observer Group is co-chaired by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and made up of seven Democrats and seven Republicans in total.

As Russia continues its brutal and horrific invasion of Ukraine, a strong and united NATO is vital to the security of the United States and our allies, said Senator Rosen. NATO is one of the most successful alliances in history and has been the bedrock of peace and security in Europe for over half a century. I am honored to be appointed to the Senates bipartisan NATO Observer Group to work alongside my colleagues to reaffirm the United States enduring commitment to NATO, assess the strength and capabilities of the Alliance, and coordinate the transatlantic response to Russian aggression. We will ensure that NATO has the resources needed to protect the United States and the security of our allies.

The strength and resilience of the transatlantic alliance has never been as critical as it is today amid Putins war in Ukraine. The close coordination among NATO nations, led by the United States, has been pivotal to increasing military assistance and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and imposing historic punitive measures against Putin for his unprovoked invasion and barbaric war crimes against the Ukrainian people, said Senator Shaheen. Senator Tillis and I re-established the Senate NATO Observer Group four years ago as we observed the increasing belligerence of Russia and other adversarial regimes that pose a threat to U.S. security and our global stability. Im encouraged to see our effort strengthened by this new expansion to include Senators Hagerty, Rosen and Moran, reaffirming the robust bipartisan support in the Senate for NATO and the U.S. commitment to the transatlantic alliance.

The last few months have shown the importance of unequivocal U.S. support for NATO and unity among our transatlantic allies as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion and atrocities against Ukraine. Congress will continue to play a vital role in ensuring we stand together against Putins invasion and any attack on our democratic allies, said Senator Tillis. I want to welcome Senators Hagerty, Rosen, and Moran to the Senate NATO Observer Group. I am proud to co-lead this important coalition with Senator Shaheen, and the addition of these members, bringing the total to 14 senators, only strengthens our mission to advocate and demonstrate strong Congressional support for NATO.

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Rosen Named to Bipartisan Senate NATO Observe - Jacky Rosen

Huddled in a control center deep in a bunker in Uedem, western Germany, operators monitor air traffic 24/7 for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization territory from the Alps up to Iceland. A green blip on radar screens on Tuesday showed what appeared to be a Russian plane likely looking to collect intelligence on anything from radar capabilities and air bases to logistics on the ground. (Airman 1st Class Joshua King/Air Force)

An unidentified Russian aircraft flying off the northern coast of Norway raised up an alert among NATO officials this week, prompting a Norwegian fighter jet to lift off into the sky and investigate.

Huddled in a control center deep in a bunker in Uedem, western Germany, operators monitor air traffic 24/7 for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization territory from the Alps up to Iceland. A green blip on radar screens on Tuesday showed what appeared to be a Russian plane likely looking to collect intelligence on anything from radar capabilities and air bases to logistics on the ground.

A duty controller at the operations center ordered a so-called alpha scramble, which sends a fighter jet in air within minutes to monitor the aircraft, collect any markings or tail-numbers and check if its carrying any missiles. That information is fed back into a database to match any previous records.

Such encounters occur every other day on average and havent seen a significant uptick since the start of Russias war with Ukraine, NATO officials said. Monitoring the alliances airspace has become all the more important since the invasion as NATO looks to beef up its presence in the east to deter any potential aggression from Moscow, but also looks to ensure no incidents spiral out of control and unintentionally drag NATO allies into the conflict.

We dont want to be provocative but its to determine what this airplane is doing and report that back, said Steve Carocci, director of the air operations center at Uedem, adding that so far officials havent seen any NATO airspace violations from the Russian side.

An incident earlier in March, when a drone flew from Ukraine through several NATO countries before crashing outside Zagreb, has highlighted the sensitivity of the work. An investigation is ongoing into the incident.

Russian intelligence-gathering planes also frequently cruise near Norway, in light of Moscows interests in the Arctic Circle. Moscow is making the so-called Northern Sea Route, which runs along its Arctic coastline, a key part of its strategy to boost natural gas exports to Asia.

The NATO alliance, which includes the U.S. and 29 other countries as members, employs as many as 8,000 people for air policing. In addition to Uedem, a center in Torrejon, Spain monitors traffic in the southern part of the alliance. Around 30 surveillance and fighter jets are in the air at any one time monitoring NATO airspace.

That includes also peering into Ukrainian territory, to some degree. While no allied planes will enter into Ukrainian airspace, some planes and ground radar sites can pick up information about whats in Ukrainian airspace or on land. NATOs airborne warning and control system aircraft, for instance, can see up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) on ground and 400 kilometers in the air, depending on weather conditions.

You always need some early warnings, Harold Van Pee, commander of the Uedem center, said. The farther you can look into the other side, the more time you have to prepare for whats coming up.

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NATO scours the skies for incursions amid rising Russia tensions - Stars and Stripes

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

The word children was etched in large white letters in Russian on the ground next to the building, in the hope that Russian jets would spare the target.

Hundreds of civilians, from the very old to the very young, had flocked to the theatre in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol seeking refuge from the invaders ceaseless assault. Yet still the bombs came, reducing a temple of culture to a pile of rubble.

It took nine days to tally up the dead, numbering roughly 300, according to the city council. But counting casualties has become impossible in a city where they cannot keep pace with the dead. Bodies have piled up on the streets as local residents race to dig mass graves.

Time is running out for the living, who struggle to cope with freezing temperatures and shortages of food and water, their ability to leave -- or bring desperately needed supplies in -- cut off by the cordon of Russian soldiers encircling the besieged city, who are now forcibly relocating Mariupols residents to Russia.

Hold these images in your head. Please do not look away. Ukrainians need the world to see what is happening in my country -- to feel it, in their very souls -- and conjure the moral courage to do what is right.

Each day brings a new horror story in the ongoing saga of the senseless slaughter of innocent lives that has unfolded since Russia invaded in late February.

The World Health Organization reports it now has verified 64 Russian attacks on Ukrainian health facilities since the war began, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without water and electricity.

Before the attack on the Mariupol theatre, Russian bombs struck a maternity hospital, killing mothers and babies.

After days of intense shelling, Russian officials announced on Friday a strategic shift to the eastern Donbas region, which promises more carnage.

The use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians is a crime against humanity and a violation of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

Government officials and civil society organisations in Ukraine are now collecting evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putins war crimes.

We are gratified by the recent announcement that the US is sending $800 million (733 million) in additional security aid to our country.

The worlds response has been amazing. The speeches and pledges at the meetings in Europe are truly heartening.

But as the European leaders who have just returned from Kyiv have explained, Ukraine needs even more from its allies to prevent the further slaughter of civilians as Russia continues its relentless campaign to destroy our country. We need NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. To create true humanitarian corridors, allowing innocent women and children safe passage out of the war zone.

The UN General Assembly earlier this month approved by an overwhelming majority a resolution calling on Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine".

In March, the International Court of Justice ruled by a vote of 13-2 that there was no evidence to support Russias pretext for war, and demanded an immediate end to its military operations.

Yes, Russian President Putin has ignored the rule of law many times in the past, in Crimea, Syria, Chechnya, Luhansk and Donetsk, to name just a few examples.

But this is a violation of another magnitude, an effort to totally obliterate a sovereign nation he does not believe even has the right to exist.

If he is allowed to continue, is there is nothing to stop him from crossing other borders, in an attempt to reassemble the Tsarist Russian empire of the past? Can a superpower pronounce Putin a war criminal, as President Biden did Wednesday, with no consequences? Does the system established following World War II to govern global security have any meaning if Putin can blow through these guardrails with impunity?

NATO and the European Union are vital parts of that international order. I listen as diplomats voice concern about stepping in to save Ukrainian lives; taking firmer measures would risk drawing NATO and the EU into the war now raging in my country, they say.

But Russia has already declared war on NATO, on the EU, on their founding principles and values. Ukraine is just the battlefield on which that war is being fought. This is not just an assault by an autocracy on an emergent democracy. This battle is the ultimate test of a rules-based world order against a dictator who believes he can take whatever territory he desires through military might - no matter how many die in the process. Free people everywhere have a stake in the outcome.

There are means of holding leaders accountable for war crimes - as in Nuremberg, Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. But the wheels of international justice turn slowly. We need to close the sky and stop the slaughter now before more war crimes are committed, before thousands more Ukrainians are murdered. Only then can the work of holding Putin accountable begin. The world is watching. Chinas decision about what to do with Taiwan may well hinge on the consequences they see levelled for Putins invasion. North Korea too is taking note.

What is happening now in Ukraine is an opportunity to show the world that the rule of law is stronger than the rule of brute force and that morality does not stop at NATOs borders.

The Ukrainian people are rising up in resistance, fighting heroically against Russias vastly superior firepower. Our efforts, with the help of our democratic allies, must succeed, and not just for Ukraines sake. Victory here matters to Georgia, to Moldova, to the rest of the free world. With greater support from the US, NATO and the EU, victory can come sooner. With your help, lives can be saved.

Dont let the death of mothers and their babies be in vain. Let it be a reminder of the high cost of tyranny a reminder that freedom is a cause worth sacrificing for.

Hanna Hopko is chair of Ukraines Democracy in Action Conference and a former Ukrainian MP.

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Russia has already declared war on the EU and NATO | View - Euronews

On 22 March 2022, NATO organized a public event on Women Mediators and Peacebuilders in the MENA Region: Leveraging Leadership. The event was part of NATOs ongoing efforts to do more in terms of public diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa region.

It brought together women mediators and peacebuilders and representatives of the Atlantic Alliance to discuss the vital role of women in promoting peace and stability across the Middle East and North Africa. It featured a wide attendance, both in person and online.

In her introduction remarks, Ambassador Bettina Cadenbach, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy at NATO Headquarters, emphasized the necessity for the Alliance to foster such discussions on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the region. Ambassador Cadenbach outlined the scope and priorities of NATOs Women, Peace and Security Policy, including its informing principles of integration, inclusiveness and integrity.

The Assistant Secretary General welcomed speakers coming from several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and introduced the guest of honour, Mrs. Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient. Tawakkol Karman highlighted the crucial role of international organizations such as NATO - together with its member states and partners - to always include women and disregard activities that might bring harm to women peacebuilders and mediators.

During a first panel on the security of women peacebuilders and human rights defenders in the MENA Region, panellists highlighted the need to strengthen international cooperation to protect female peacebuilders within the framework of international humanitarian law, and to enhance womens representation in conflict resolution efforts. The second discussion on the role of women in politics in the Middle East and North Africa drew on past and current experiences aimed at informing a more holistic and sensible approach to the inclusion of all women in all political processes. International support for funding and logistics were identified as major drivers for female activists in the region.

The discussion featured also an exchange of views on NATO and Allied countries role in the MENA region. Participants presented several policy recommendations for NATO, including the organization of workshops and training programmes for female peacekeepers and peacebuilders, as well as renewed efforts in line with the Responsibility to Protect principle enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 of 2013.

Amongst the highlights of the event was a discussion held between Yemeni 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Mrs. Tawakkol Karman, who compared the struggle of the Arab Spring activism to Ukraines resistance to Russias aggression, and Ms. Irene Fellin, NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security.

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NATO hosts women peacebuilders and mediators from the Middle East and North Africa to discuss their work and the Women, Peace and Security agenda -...

A couple of weeks ago, some Republican senatorstook to the microphonesto declare that the war in Ukraine has shown that Democrats are a bunch of weaklings who can't defend America. What a shocker? One of them even called Joe Biden "Bambi's brother." But despite their fist-shaking, you could see they were just going through the motions. That's because they know their party is hopelessly confused about what they need to do to appeal to their base on foreign policy these days. Elected GOP officials are all over the map on this issue, with a growing faction becoming more hostile to support Ukraine by the day.

It's actually not unprecedented for Republicans to vote against military action instigated by Democratic presidents and it isn't even unprecedented for them to refuse to back NATO. Back in the '90s, many of them voted against intervention in the Balkans region after the former Yugoslavia splintered, even in the face of ethnic cleansing and genocide. The House GOP leader at the time, Tom Delay of Texas, saidhe didn't trust the president and claimed the crisis was "falsely described as a huge humanitarian problem, when in comparison to other places, it was nothing." (It was not nothing.)

I think what he saidaccurately summed upthe thinking of many Republicans at the time. Their hatred for Clinton was so overwhelming they simply could not support anything he did and frankly, they just didn't care about all those war crimes. If anything, they were sympathetic to the Serbian strongman who had been terrorizing the region for most of the decade,Slobodan Miloevi,who was eventually found guilty of war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

RELATED: Putin's war crimes and his military failures are making his GOP apologists squirm

But after the many decades of reflexive GOP hostility to the Soviet Union and their virulent anti-communist scaremongering, it is still a bit startling to see so many of them suddenly ambivalent about Russian aggression.

Why?

There was a timewhen the hard-line right-wingers defined themselves by their antagonism toward America's strongest post-war adversary. They were so paranoid about it that for a time they believed the entire government was overrun with Russian spies and the whole country was in danger of being overtaken from within. Not anymore.

On Tuesday night, the House of Representatives held a vote for a simple, non-binding resolution expressing support for NATO and calling on President Joe Biden to strengthen the organization's commitment to defending democracy. All the Democrats and two-thirds of the Republicans voted for it.

63 Republicans voted against it.

This was the most anodyne resolution under the circumstances you could possibly come up with. This isn't like Kosovo when they were voting on whether to authorize airstrikes, it was a purely symbolic statement to back the NATO allies which are bearing a huge burden of taking refugees and a statement of support for NATO's "founding democratic principles" citing the threat of "authoritarian regimes" and "internal threats from proponents of illiberalism."

If you look at that list of the Republicans who voted against this resolution, nearly one-third of the caucus, you'll see that it includes the usual Trumpist suspects and a few more we might not have known was in that faction. Considering all the kind words Trump himself has had to say about Putin ever since he began the invasion, it's obvious this is where the Trump base is on this issue. And it seems to be growing in Congress.

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And this wasn't the first House vote that made that clear although it did garner more votes than any of the previous ones. The first voteon March 2ndwas a resolution urging sanctions against Russia and military aid to Ukraine for which all of the Democrats, even the true blue anti-war lefties, voted. Only three Republicans declined to support it: Matt Rosendale, R-Mt., Thomas Massie, R- Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Az.

"Before Tuesday night, 21 House Republicans had already voted against support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia"

Two weeks later onMarch 9th, the House voted to suspend oil and gas imports from Russia. Two Democrats voted against it as did 15 Republicans. On March 17, the House passed a bill toend favorable trade relationswith Russia and Belarus and eight Republicans voted against it. All of the Democrats voted yes.

Meanwhile, members of this faction are busy proposing legislation of their own, which explains their objections to the aforementioned resolutions and bills.North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn and Arizona's Gosarwant to prohibit the military from deploying any more troops in support of Ukraine in Europe than are stationed at the Mexican border.10 more Republicanswant to bar the delivery of military aid to Ukraine until the border wall is completed. I think it's only a matter of time before they propose an invasion of Mexico along the lines of Putin's incursion into Ukraine.

Before Tuesday night, 21 House Republicans had already voted against support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia. And that number had only grown from one vote to the next, culminating last night in 63 Republicans voting against even expressing support for democracy. That third of the caucus will have an enormous influence if the Republicans take control of the House next January.

RELATED:Putin's war and the battle for democracy: How this conflict raises the global stakes

So where is this coming from?

Some of it is simple contrarianism, of course, just as it was back in the '90s. There is, after all, a Democrat in the White House. And some of it comes from a very real admiration for Russia, especially its leader Vladimir Putin. But a lot of this attitude is no doubt due to Trump's trashing of Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the years. Some believe that Ukraine deserved to be invaded, largely based on the misinformation they've been fed about "biolabs" and "Nazis," both of which they believe America is responsible for perpetrating. And, of course, Trump blamed Ukraine for the election interference in 2016 no doubt having been told that by Putin himself.

But there are other rationales as well. Some simply don't like NATO and have bought into Trump's nonsensical view that Europe is a"welfare case."Many of them just don't think the U.S. has any reason to have allies or joint defense agreements, which reveals that they have no knowledge of history. They also seem to think thatRussia is super strongand America is extremely weak, so it's a mistake to hit the hornet's nest. These are the people who dress up in the flag and sing "I'm proud to be an American '' at their wedding receptions.

"It's obvious this is where the Trump base is on this issue"

And, needless to say, aside from his impressive manly manliness, a lot of Republicans appreciate Vladimir Putin because he believes in traditional family values and won't let that "woke," gay agenda infect his culture the way the Democrats have done here. Because, let's face facts, this is all the Democrats' fault, especially the alleged "Biden Crime Family," and the bogus climate change pushers whocooked the whole thing upto screw up the oil markets and force their radical Green New Deal down the throats of Real Americans.

This faction within the Republican Party is powerful and it's becoming mainstream. The big question is how many Republican voters are with them. If the voters are following the same trajectory as their representatives, there are more today than there were a month ago and that's frightening.

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Trump's trashing of Ukraine pays off for Russia: Republicans vote to reject NATO and democracy - Salon

By Jeffrey H. Bloodworth

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Reinhold Niebuhrs Serenity Prayer, 1943

Harry Truman understood Reinhold Niebuhrs Serenity Prayer. Because of this, NATOs founder surely would resist NATO expansion.

In 1947, Truman was confronted with what is to us a familiar challenge: Soviet (Russian) aggression. Breaking wartime accords, the Soviets occupied Eastern Europe and schemed to overtake the Western half. This was a strategic challenge of the highest order, which seemingly posed a binary choice: appeasement or war.

Recalling Neville Chamberlain, Truman refused appeasement. He also realized a bloody war to roll back Soviet aggression did not serve the national interest.

But Truman knew his Niebuhr. Made famous by 12-step programs, Niebuhr originally penned his plea for war-weary Americans. But the philosopher-theologians prayer came to encapsulate early Cold War philosophy to counter Soviet aggression while avoiding full-fledged war.

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Rejecting both combat and concession, Trumans middle way was the 12-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collective security pact, NATO was the foundation of Americas postwar containment policy.

Via NATO, the West contained Soviet expansion until it would collapse from internal contradictions. Hardly the stuff of action movies, NATO and containment were stolid, sober and serious answers to Soviet imperialism. It also worked. Despite strategic blunders and inter-alliance tensions, NATO held firm and the Soviet Union crumbled from within.

Seventy-five years later, the West is confronted with a reprise of Russian imperialism. Like our forebears, there are those so filled with understandable umbrage and outrage that they seek an aggressive, affirmative response: NATO expansion.

In the heat of the moment, we must keep our heads and remember Niebuhr and Trumans sage example. Both understood America had to restrain its inner-Yosemite Sam and thread a political needle by countering aggression without spiraling into an atomic conflagration. NATO expansion into Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and even Finland are needlessly provocative measures, which also could undermine the alliance.

NATOs current united stand against Russian aggression resulted from decades of slow-gestating security, and economic, political and cultural integration. In theory, NATO is open to those nations that meet certain economic and political criteria, and contribute to Euro-Atlantic security.

Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine simply do not meet those standards. In addition to lagging economic development, all three bring with them pre-existing conflicts, which could drag the alliance into war.

Realists have bemoaned NATO expansion into Poland (1999) and the Baltics (2004) for sparking Russias ire and the present conflict. These specialists are, to some extent, correct. But their analysis misses the point.

First, Poland and the Baltic states are sovereign nations equipped to make security considerations that run counter to Russian desires. Moreover, Russia did not heatedly object, which meant expansion did not bring with it an imminent threat of war. But 2022 is not the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Today, adding Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and even Finland invites further conflict with a humiliated and nuclear-armed Russia. This is no time for provocations on Russian borders.

NATO is only as strong as its members commitment to Article V. The Three Musketeers proviso pledges each member state to consider an attack on one as an attack on all. It is wholly foreseeable that a NATO state could deem a conflict with Russia over far-flung Moldova, for instance, as outside its security interests and refuse to invoke Article V. Such a scenario could be the alliances undoing and Putins ultimate fantasy.

Niebuhr and Truman would not deem Russian domination of its neighbors as something the West cannot change. But they would caution our seething rage at Putins war should not blinker our wisdom so that we blunder into a catastrophic, wider conflict.

Courage oft-times calls for discretion and measured responses. Arming the Ukrainians, sanctioning Russia and offering robust security assistance short of NATO enlargement has helped stymie Putins advance.

To be sure, such measures do not result in emotional satisfaction. But this is not a Hollywood movie. Americans should not expect a tidy denouement in which the plot is resolved after a climatic end.

A wise Niebuhrian and Truman-esque response is one that salvages Ukrainian sovereignty, severely punishes Russia, forestalls a wider war and prevents future conflict. Be prepared. There is no quick and easy solution to this foreign policy crisis.

The West must accept it cannot end Putins aggression in one fell swoop. It is a challenge that must be managed, confronted and thwarted. This is no time for dramatic gestures. Trumans example and Niebuhrs Serenity Prayer point the way.

Jeffrey H. Bloodworth is security fellow at the Truman National Security Project. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

2022, Tribune Content Agency

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COUNTERPOINT: This is not the time for NATO expansion - Richmond Times-Dispatch

China has accused the US, UK and Australia of trying to build an "Asia-Pacific version of NATO" after the three countries announced that they will develop hypersonic weapons via the recently created AUKUS security alliance.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnsonannounced the plan after holding a check-in on the progress of AUKUS, the Indo-Pacific alliance that was launched by the three countries in September.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily briefing that the cooperation would "undermine peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region".

"The US, UK and Australia will cooperate in developing hypersonic weapons and other advanced military technology," Mr Zhao said.

"Their ultimate goal is to create the Asia-Pacific version of NATO and serve the US hegemony outright. Asia-Pacific countries are of course firmly opposed to this."

The alliance comes amid growing concerns by the US and allies about China's growing military assertiveness in the Pacific.

Australia, the UK and the US have already begun work on deepening collaboration across a range of advanced military technologies, including cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and undersea robotics.

They will now also develophypersonics and counter-hypersonics missiles, as well as electronic warfare capabilities and information sharing.

Both China and Russia have made large strides testing advanced versions of hypersonic missiles that can hit distant targets at such high speeds that they cannot be readily intercepted by defence systems.

The weapons can carry nuclear payloads.

Most analysts say the United States is currently lagging behind both Beijing and Moscow on the technology, although the Pentagon reportedly conducted its own successful tests last month.

Australia is also trying to develop its own advanced missiles including hypersonics under several defence initiatives announced by the federal government.

Mr Zhao criticised the AUKUS partnership as "an Anglo-Saxon clique" that followed "the mentality of Cold War and bloc politics".

"We urge the US, UKand Australia to face up to the aspirations of Asia-Pacific countries to seek peace and development, promote cooperation and achieve win-win results," he said.

"We urge them to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, faithfully fulfil their international obligations, and do more things that are conducive to regional peace and stability."

Separately, Mr Zhao condemned the US-proposed sale of equipment related to the Patriot air defence system to Taiwan, saying China would "take strong measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty and security interest."

The US $95-million-worth deal includes support for the operation of the Patriot system, such as training, fielding and maintenance of the system, and related equipment, according to a Pentagon notification to Congress.

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China accuses US, UK and Australia of trying to build Asia-Pacific NATO - ABC News

Recently, the automobile manufacturing industry, known as the last bastion of Japanese technology, is beginning to notice an alarming situation.

Called the Big Three, Japan's Toyota, Nissan, and Honda still enjoy an unshakable global status in the field of fueled vehicles. Among them, Toyota Motor Corporation is the largest company in Japan. Last year, Toyota alone sold 10.5 million vehicles worldwide, topping the global auto sales leader board for the last two consecutive years.

Its also worth mentioning that, last year, Toyota sold 2.3 million cars in the United States, surpassing General Motors to top the U.S. car sales ranking. In 1931, General Motors overtook Ford to become the No. 1 selling car brand in the U.S. and it has gone undefeated for 90 consecutive years until it unwillingly passed the crown to Toyota.

Last year, Nissan-Renault sold 2.6 million vehicles worldwide. It was during Carlos Ghosns leadership that Nissan and France's Renault joined forces and established a strong presence in the European market.

As for Honda, its global sales last year were 4.5 million cars. The company has absolute confidence in its own engine technology. At the finale of the 2021 World Formula One Championship (F1) held in the United Arab Emirates last December, the drivers of the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams, which have deep cooperation with Honda, won the drivers championship and the third place respectively.

Nevertheless, a kind of pessimism has emerged in one after another of Japans carmakers.

The reason lies in the fact that the global auto industry is rapidly shifting from fueled vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). Yet, compared with companies in other countries, Japan's big three automakers are lagging far behind in their conversion to EVs. Only 21,139 electric vehicles were sold in Japan in 2021.

Meanwhile, Chinese car makers are eyeing up the global market. Last year, BYD Auto Company sold 320,810 electric vehicles. At the United Nations COP26 climate summit held in Glasgow last fall, a BYD electric vehicle was identified as the official vehicle for the meetings.

Also late last year, the Keihan Bus Company in Kyoto officially put into use four BYD J6 electric buses. A J6 costs about 30% of the price of a comparable Nissan vehicle and has more performance. This is reminiscent of when Japanese cars entered the U.S. market half a century ago.

So, is the last bastion of Japanese technology going to collapse sooner or later? Amid this deepening sense of crisis, Japanese manufacturers have rolled out new initiatives this year.

For example, Sony has entered the arena of EVs. On Jan. 4, at the CES technology exhibition held in Las Vegas, Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman and CEO of Sony Group, announced the establishment of a new company Sony Mobility to commercialize electric vehicles.

In order to enter the EV sector, we have set up Sony Mobility. It aims to launch electric vehicles that combine sensor technology, cloud service technology, 5G technology, entertainment and content technology. Sony Group has been deeply involved in each of the above areas and with these technologies, we believe that Sony is in an advantageous position to redefine mobility. Driven by the news, Sony's share price rose 5% in one trading day.

Two months later, on March 4, Kenichiro Yoshida and Honda President & CEO Toshihiro Mibu held a joint press conference to announce Sony and Honda have reached a strategic alliance agreement to jointly create a new era of future mobile technology and services. Within this year, the two companies will establish a joint venture together. It is expected that by 2025, our first electric car will be developed and sold.

In fact, Masaru Ibuka, the founder of Sony, and Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda, were lifelong friends. Not only had they felt very proud of their own technologies as well as abilities, they also dreamed of cooperating together one day. The two, however, did not fulfill this wish in their lifetimes. Many years after their passing, the companies they founded are finally hand in hand.

The irony is that the two companies have decided to work together because they havent had a clear perspective of the future. This is particularly true for Honda because in the EV world, the Worlds No. 1 engine technology is not needed.

Currently, Sony is developing image sensor that can accurately capture signs and objects up to 450 meters away. And in gaming, Sony is developing an artificial intelligence system that drives a car at high speed while avoiding contacts. It is said that Honda believes that these Sony technologies will play a huge role in the future era of driverless cars.

Whats more, the era of flying cars will follow the driverless era. SkyDrive, founded by former Toyota technical engineer Chihiro Fukuzawa in Aichi Prefecture in 2018, has attracted much attention. In terms of flying car technology, the SkyDrive is one of the world's leaders. Certain people even hold high hopes that it may become the new Toyota of the 21st century.

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Time To Put NATO Military Intervention In Ukraine On The Table - Worldcrunch

UKRAINE last night urged its people to flee or face death in the far east of the war-torn country as Russia prepares to launch a new bloodbath.

Tens of thousands of Vladimir Putins troops are expected to storm the bitterly contested Donetsk and Luhansk in a face-saving onslaught.

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It is designed to give the despot a token win he can crow about at Russias annual Victory Day Parade on May 9.

It came as Nato chiefs said they were expecting a major offensive by the Russians in the Donbas region and warned there could be a long haul ahead for Ukraine.

Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Putin could end the war but added: We have to be realistic and realise that this may last for a long time, for many months, for even years.

His warning came as Boris Johnson said Russian action in the city Bucha Doesnt look far short of genocide.

Putins forces raped and murdered civilians, then left their mutilated corpses to rot in the streets.

Joining global condemnation, the PM said: Im afraid when you look at whats happening in Bucha, the revelations that we are seeing from what Putin has done in Ukraine doesnt look far short of genocide to me.

I have no doubt the international community, Britain very much in the front rank, will be moving again in lockstep to impose more sanctions and more penalties on Putins regime.

Military chiefs fear far more atrocities are yet to be discovered as Russian troops are forced back.

One official said: I think this will be a theme of the coming days and weeks. One of the legacies of this conflict will be the investigation into war crimes as a consequence of Russian activity.

Experts also said Russia faced a looming military disaster as units that received a battering in the first weeks of war are sent to the new front line.

They said Russia had totally lost the initiative after its war machine was forced to retreat from its assault on capital Kyiv.

As the Kremlin declared Donbas is now its top priority, Ukraines Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk told residents in the region to evacuate immediately.

She added: It has to be done now because later people will be under fire and face the threat of death.

There is nothing they will be able to do about it nor will we be able to help. It is necessary to evacuate as long as this possibility exists. For now, it still exists.

Among those trying to seize the opportunity where children pictured resting on luggage as families waited to board to train in the city of Kramatorsk.

More than four million Ukrainians around a quarter of the countrys population have already fled their homes since the invasion started on February 24.

Officials are desperate to save the remainder from the atrocities suffered by civilians who were trapped in the occupied towns north of Kyiv.

More than 400 people were slaughtered and hundreds more are missing amid some of the worst fighting including in Bucha, Borodyanka, Cernihiv, Irpin and Hostomel.

Im afraid when you look at whats happening in Bucha, the revelations that we are seeing from what Putin has done in Ukraine doesnt look far short of genocide to me.

An ex-British Army sniper who fought with Ukraines foreign legion to liberate Bucha said he saw children with their hands bound and their heads shot.

Shane Matthew, 34, who served with the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment, added: I was fighting for four days.

"When we managed to get control of the city, we discovered streets littered with bodies. Its beyond atrocious.

Yesterday, Severodonetsk the eastern-most town still held by Ukraine was pounded by Russian artillery.

Officials fear it could face the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped for weeks without running water, heating, medicines or food.

Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko said: The world has not seen the scale of the tragedy since the Nazi concentration camps.

Occupation forces turned our entire city into a death camp. This is the new Auschwitz. The world must help punish Putin's monsters.

Mariupol City Council said: The murderers are covering their tracks. Russian mobile crematoria have begun operating in Mariupol.

After the international publicity of the genocide in Bucha, the leadership of Russia ordered to destroy any evidence of its war crimes.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops had raped mothers in front of their children and driven tanks over victims for fun.

He told the UN Security Council there was not a single crime that they had not committed.

Ex-British Army chief General Lord Dannatt backed genocide claims. He said: The war crimes are stacking up to the point that it looks like a concerted effort to reduce the Ukrainian population.

This is looking to me increasingly like a genocide that is plotted from the top and the top therefore must bear responsibility.

Reports emerged last night of a man forced to kneel and inhale a tanks exhaust while others were hanged by their arms from trees.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague said it had opened a war crimes probe with the power to issue arrest warrants.

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Ukraine warns of fresh Russian bloodbath in east as Nato says war may go on for years... - The Sun