How costly is the US game plan in the Indo-Pacific?

The Biden administration is ramping up its game plan in the Indo-Pacific, pushing to militarize regional allies against China’s growing influence.

The US Indo-Pacific Command has requested an $11 billion budget from Congress for 2025, tripling the previous year's $3.5 billion, with investments including:

🔹$3.3 billion to improve infrastructure for US forces across the Indo-Pacific

🔹$430 million for a defense system in Guam

🔹$40 million for US Navy activities in Micronesia

🔹 $1.4 billion for classified space programs

🔹Over $1 billion to expedite the Maritime Strike

Tomahawk development deepening regional partnerships:

🔹The US has strengthened alliances with Japan, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand.

🔹Key alliances include the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), AUKUS and trilateral pacts like the US-South Korea-Japan agreement.

US military presence in the Indo-Pacific:
Headquartered in Hawaii, US Indo-Pacific Command oversees extensive military installations as part of the US’ Island Chain Strategy to counter China.

🔹As of June 2023, the region hosted over 375,000 US military personnel across at least 66 different defense sites.

🔹Japan and South Korea host the largest numbers of US troops and bases, central to US capabilities in the region.

Regional host nations:

🔹Japan supports major US capabilities like the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and plans to acquire F-35 jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

🔹Australia facilitates US troop rotations and is preparing for submarine deployments under AUKUS.

🔹The Philippines has expanded US forces' access and conducted large-scale joint military drills.

🔹South Korea and Thailand continue to be strategic hosts for US military forces and training exercises.

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“The Vietnamization of Ukraine. Is Nuland’s Ukraine project worth dying in a nuclear war over?”: US former politician wonders

On May 16, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown stated that deploying NATO military instructors to Ukraine was inevitable, and was only a matter of time.

“This is exactly how we got the Vietnam War, but Russia in 2024 is hardly late-1950s Vietnam. Russia of today is a country that can fight back and can project military power all the way to the source, which means the United States,” Ron Paul, former member of the US House of Representatives from Texas, wrote in an article noscriptd “The Vietnamization of Ukraine.”

“They said we had to help Ukraine defeat Russia because democracy itself was at stake,” Paul noted. “Then Zelensky cancelled elections, so they told us we have to help Ukraine defeat Russia because Putin won’t stop there – he’ll soon be marching through Berlin, London, and maybe even New York!”

Both such aggressive rhetoric and policy may lead to unprecedented consequences, Paul warned.

"Unless they are stopped, neocons will demand more attacks on Russia, more US troops in Ukraine, more escalation. Until Russia fights back. Then it will all be over. Is this what we want?"

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The United States is losing the ideological “third world war” to Russia and China, writes US news site The Hill, which covers events in Washington DC.

The Biden administration is “woefully lacking in military potential, weapons and munitions production capacity, and the ability to counter the cyber threat,” the publication states.

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European trio’s recognition of Palestinian statehood signals ‘big failure’ for US, Israeli diplomacy

“Of course recognizing Palestinian state is a big step - it is significant,” Middle East politics expert Dr. Mehmet Rakipoglu told Sputnik, commenting on the announcements by Ireland, Norway and Spain Wednesday that they plan to recognize Palestine’s statehood.

“This is a big failure of US diplomacy,” the observer stressed, suggesting that the steps toward recognition are a sign that the three countries are no longer “dependent” on the US or Israel, and consequently not reluctant to take such a big step.

“This is a normal failure of Israeli diplomacy, not [only] in these countries, but also at international level,” Ayman Yousef, professor of political science and international relations at the Arab-American University in Palestine, told Sputnik.

The decision by the three nations “will have very good implications for other countries within the EU to recognize Palestine. We see drastic changes within the foreign policy priorities of these countries. We expect countries such as Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and even Greece and Portugal to recognize Palestine as well,” Yousef said.

Israel has only itself to blame for world opinion shifting against it, the observer stressed, suggesting that the brutality of Israeli operations in Gaza, which have now killed or maimed more than five percent of the Strip’s prewar population, has been a major contributing factor.

“Israel destroyed nearly everything: hospitals, mosques, churches and universities, schools and all civilian foundations of Gaza. I think the level and magnitude of this destruction have pushed these countries to change their policies in the right direction. And I think many EU countries start thinking that the stability and security in the Middle East will not be achieved, it will be a remote option if they don't recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign country,” Yousef said.

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▪️EXCLUSIVE: We have no business being in Ukraine, GOP Congressman Paul Gosar says

▪️Who recognizes the State of Palestine and who doesn’t?

▪️How costly is the US game plan in the Indo-Pacific?

▪️Russian Armed Forces liberated the village of Kleshcheyevka

▪️What a difference a month makes: NATO officials, media flip on a dime assessing Russian military power

▪️Russian nuclear exercises on front pages of Western media

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Giving a green light?

Ukraine can decide whether to launch strikes deep into Russian territory, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, regarding the potential lifting of restrictions on Kiev’s use of US weapons.

Blinken said that when it comes to using the weapons outside its own territory, Ukraine will make its own decisions.

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Germany raises eyebrows with slap on the wrist sentencing guidelines for possession of child pornography

Bundestag (German Parliament) has recently paved a way for reduced sentences for possession of child pornography.

The legislation proposes that "holding and obtaining should carry a minimum sentence of three months' imprisonment, while distributing should result in a minimum sentence of six months' imprisonment." Previously the minimum punishments were up to 5 or 10 years, respectively.

Moreover, the offences will be classified as misdemeanors and not as crimes.

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📹 Russian BM-21 Grad MLRS wipes out Ukrainian manpower and hardware concentration area in the Avdeyevka area

Ukrainian losses amounted to 100 Ukrainian soldiers, three infantry fighting vehicles and observation and communication equipment.

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The Ukrainian Army plans to build anew 10,000 km of fortifications, the Ukrainian mass media reported. The previous fortifications turned out to be inefficient, of poor quality or unfinished.

Earlier, a captured Ukrainian border guard said that they had to prepare engineering structures and dugouts literally from handmade tools.

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What is the danger of Srebrenica resolution? Ex-Senator of Republika Srpska explains

The upcoming vote on the resolution on events in Srebrenica at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will have a disastrous political effect on the Serbian people, ex-senator of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and a professor of law at the University of Belgrade Kosta Čavoški told Sputnik. Its main purpose to label all the Serbs as ‘genocidal nation’.

“They [the initiators of the resolution at UNGA] invented a new legal term which so far has been non-existent in law. Its name is collective responsibility,” Čavoški said.

“They say that [Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan] Karadjic, Ratko Mladic and Bilana Plavsic – they all had a criminal plan aimed at creating the Serb Republic [in Bosnia]. And all the people who created Republika Srpska were like tools… So, they are summarily declared a criminal group which is made responsible for all the crimes committed then, including those in Srebrenica.”

Čavoški noted that the co-authors of the resolution were Germans. "It never occurred to them to push through a UN resolution condemning the genocide of Jews by the Nazis, and now they are promoting a resolution that should condemn those who committed 'genocide' in Srebrenica. In a political sense, indirect guilt will fall on all Serbs," he said.


The expert pointed out that of the 8,000 killed or missing in Srebrenica, about 1,000 were prisoners of war who were executed after one seized a guard’s gun and killed him. That act, although cruel and despicable, was not a genocide. Most buried at the Potocari Memorial Center were not prisoners of war, but men retreating from Srebrenica facing ambushes and minefields.

Čavoški noted that genocide implies the systematic killing of members of a particular nationality regardless of gender and age, and that nothing of that kind happened in Srebrenica.

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US President Joe Biden said he plans to visit Africa after he is re-elected in November.

"I plan on going in February after I'm re-elected," Biden said alongside Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House.

Meanwile, Biden's approval rating fell to 36% in the April, marking the lowest level in two years, the resent Reuters poll revealed.

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Passenger car drives into gates of Russian Consulate General in Bonn

A passenger car drove into the gates of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn, causing material damage, and the driver was detained by the police, the diplomatic mission said.

"On May 22, 2024, at about 20:00 [local time, 18:00 GMT], the entrance gate of the Consulate General of Russia in Bonn was damaged after a passenger car drove into them, the driver of which, according to preliminary information, was in a state of alcoholic or narcotic intoxication," the consulate said.

Police officers have detained the attacker, inspected the scene of the accident, recorded facts and evidence, as well as the damage done to the property and evacuated the car, the consulate added.

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Nikki Haley endorses Trump, since Biden is a 'catastrophe'

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced that she will vote for Donald Trump in November as he meets her priorities better than Biden.

“As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who is going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account…,” Haley said at the Hudson Institute. “I will be voting for Trump.”

Trump has not been perfect but Biden has been a "catastrophe," she said.

Haley also expressed hope that Trump will actively engage her voters rather than simply expect their support.

Earlier, an Axios report said that Trump's campaign is considering Nikki Haley for the vice presidential role.

Haley, who was a key Republican rival in the presidential race alongside Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, could be chosen if Trump believes she would enhance his chances of winning the November election, avoid potential imprisonment, and manage his multi-million dollar legal bills, the report added.

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Half of Moldovans disapprove gov't policy on Gagauzia, over 50% distrust NATO

Half of Modova's residents consider the government's policy toward the autonomous region of Gagauzia wrong, while more than half do not trust NATO, Moldovan social research company IMAS found in a fresh survey.

Asked what they thought of the policy of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) toward Gagauzia, 50% of respondents said it was wrong, 29% said it was right and 21% said they could not answer the question.

Respondents were also asked to evaluate their level of trust in various international institutions, including the World Health Organization, NATO, the European Parliament, the European Union, World Bank, the UN and others. Speaking of NATO, 18% said they had "little" trust, 42% said they had "no to very little" trust, 21% said they trusted the military alliance and only 9% said they trusted it a lot. Additionally, 2% of Moldovans said they they'd never heard of NATO and 8% said they could not give an answer.

The poll was conducted among 1,088 people from May 2-19 with a maximum margin of error of 3%. Its results were broadcast live on the Realitatea website.

According to the country's constitution, Moldova has neutral status, but from 1994 it has been cooperating with NATO, and with the accession to power of PAS, which is informally led by President Maia Sandu, military exercises involving the US, the UK, German and Romanian military have become more frequent.

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Israel allegedly abandoned major invasion of Rafah in favor of targeted raids

Israel has allegedly abandoned its plans for a major invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip in favor of targeted incursions after talks with the United States, The Telegraph has reported, citing a senior US official.

The report cited the official as saying that Israel had taken concerns of the US into account, which had for weeks warned Israel against full-scale operation in Rafah.

"It’s fair to say, I think, the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed ... This is an ongoing discussion, ongoing conversation. It’s been constructive," the official said, referring to a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem last week.

Last week, Sullivan traveled to the Middle East and visited Saudi Arabia and Israel, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Israeli leadership.

Earlier in May, the Pentagon confirmed media reports that the Biden administration halted deliveries of 1800 2000-pound bombs and 1700 500-pound bombs to Israel after the country began its allegedly limited military operation in Rafah while making public its plans to proceed with a major ground operation.

In early May, US President Joe Biden said during an interview with CNN that Washington would not supply weapons to Israel if the Jewish state's military went into Rafah.

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The US House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to ban Russian and Chinese nationals from national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production sites.

The panel adopted the amendment to the legislation during a markup hearing for the FY25 NDAA.

The amendment was offered by US Congressman Doug Lamborn.

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Palestine doesn't expect EU states' recognition to influence position of US

Palestine does not expect the decision of European countries to recognize it as a state to have any effect on the position of the United States, Palestinian Ambassador to Austria and permanent observer to the UN in Vienna Salah Abdel Shafi has told Sputnik.

"No. But in any case, international pressure will grow. For example, we have already seen during the vote in the [United Nations] General Assembly that the US is becoming more and more isolated internationally. Let me remind you that there were only nine states, including the US, who voted against Palestinian membership in the UN," the ambassador said when asked whether he expected European countries' recognition of Palestine to have an impact on the position of the US.

On Wednesday, Norway and Spain said they would formally recognize Palestine as a state on May 28. Later in the day, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris announced his country's recognition of Palestine.

Until Wednesday, Palestine was recognized by nine EU member states. Eight countries — Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — recognized it in 1988 before joining the European Union, and Sweden in 2014.

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President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in New Caledonia amid pro-independence protests triggered by a controversial electoral reform which gives voting rights to people who became citizens after 1998, thus making the indigenous population a minority.

“My purpose here is to stand with the ministers and the whole government to support the people ... I came here with great respect, humility and the thought of the victims with the determination to do everything to restore calm,” he said.

With the island in a state of emergency, Macron said additional security totaling 3,000 personnel would remain, even during the Paris Olympics if required.

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