Japan’s drive toward remilitarization: From baby steps to giant leaps

Japan’s Defense Ministry has released a white paper with updates to the Japan Self-Defense Forces’ organization, defense industrial base and arms spending, and plans to further expand cooperation with the US in light of the “serious challenge to the existing international order” posed by “states that do not share universal values.”

The report calls for the “fundamental reinforcement” of Japan’s military capabilities, “including the possession of counterstrike capabilities,” standoff, missile defense, drone, command & control, intelligence, and mobile deployment capacity, in what is characterized as the “most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War Two.”

◾️ Japan’s military was defanged after WWII, in accordance with the Article 9 ‘no war’ clause of its 1947 Constitution. Tokyo began its drive toward remilitarization in 1997 in a defense white paper formulating a strategy expanding the JSDF’s focus beyond the defense of Japan to ‘maintaining peace and stability’ in the region.

◾️ Japan started flirting with the deployment of troops abroad for peacekeeping, disaster relief and counterterror missions during the 1991 Gulf War.

◾️ In 2011, Japan set up its first and only military base abroad in Djibouti for anti-piracy ops.

◾️ In 2015, the government of late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed legislation formally allowing Japan’s military to participate in conflicts abroad.

◾️ The 2022 National Security Strategy, passed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, kicked off a process aimed at “fundamentally reinforcing defense capabilities,” including by doubling of the 1% of GDP spending threshold held by governments going back to 1958, by FY2027. Kishida used Russia's military operation in Ukraine as one of the justifications for the multi-year, $320 bln rearmament plan, claiming it set a "precedent" for hostile actors.

◾️ FY2024 defense spending has reached $56 bln US, or about 1.6% of GDP.

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Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin held a phone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Friday, marking their second call in a month, according to the American Department.

They also noted that Austin emphasized the importance of keeping communication channels between Russia and the U.S. open during the conversation.

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The US does not currently allow Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for "deep" strikes on Russia, but this could change, the Pentagon stated.

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❗️The crash of the SSJ-100 in the Moscow region may have been caused by the simultaneous failure of both engines, emergency services told Sputnik.

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US ‘had a hand’ in provocative decision by France, Germany, Italy and Poland to develop long-range cruise missiles – expert

The US definitely played a major role in the “very dangerous, provocative” decision by France, Germany, Italy and Poland to develop ground-launched cruise missiles with a range beyond 500 km, Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik.

“I'm almost sure that the US had a hand in this,” said the retired Lieutenant Colonel with over 20 years in the US Army. The European project “augments” that just announced by the US to deploy its cruise missiles in Germany, he noted, adding that the US and NATO “want to escalate.”

With their project, the Europeans will address “some of their lost capability and the gaps because of what they've been providing to Ukraine,” noted the pundit. It will also give them more control over their own missile systems, likely armed with nuclear warheads, he said.

But the decision will face challenges over contracts, whose design takes precedence, origin of resources, supply chain and maintenance issues. “To develop a new system usually takes a minimum of five to seven years. So, we're looking down the road, and it's going to be complex,” he said.

As far as Russia is concerned, it makes sense to react “from a security perspective,” the military expert said.

“We're looking at long range missiles that can strike deep into the Russia from Europeans. It basically creates Europe as a battleground. So rather than just Ukraine, we are actually extending that into Europe as well,” Rasmussen said. “you would think the Europeans have learned a lesson over the last several centuries, but I guess they haven't. It's very dangerous.”

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⛴🇷🇺 Meet Russia’s new Arctic Bogatyr: What we know about the Evpaty Kolovrat icebreaker

The Evpaty Kolovrat icebreaker has completed state testing and is expected to join the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet in the near future.

◻️ The 82-meter long, 19-meter wide, 9.2-meter tall icebreaker displaces 4,080 tons, and can penetrate ice up to a meter thick. It has a cruising range of 7,600 nautical miles, a thirty-day endurance, and a speed up 14 knots in clear waters.

◻️ The ship is driven by a powerful diesel-electric propulsion system with twin azimuth thrusters. Along with icebreaking, the vessel can provide towing support, deliver cargoes to remote areas, serve as a rescue ship for vessels in distress, conduct hydrographic surveys, and perform general patrols.

◻️ The Evpaty Kolovrat is a Project 21180M icebreaker class – a modernization and downsizing of the Project 21180 Ilya Muromets – a vessel commissioned into the Northern Fleet in 2017 to become the first new icebreaker tailored specifically for naval use to be delivered in nearly 50 years.

◻️ The updated vessel is named after Evpaty Kolovrat, a 12th century Russian bogatyr heralded for his bravery, who legend has it died fighting a numerically superior Mongol army.

◻️ The vessel has a complement of 28-32, and a helideck for a Kamov Ka-27 or Ka-32 chopper.

◻️ State testing carried out at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky checked the icebreaker’s seaworthiness, maneuverability, onboard ship systems and aeronautical equipment.

◻️ Once commissioned, the Evpaty Kolovrat will join dozens of other icebreakers in Russia’s military and civilian fleets. The current tally includes at least 34 diesel-electric and seven nuclear icebreakers.

◻️ The 21180M’s smaller hull size and displacement compared to the Muromets (4,080 vs 6,000 tons) allows the former to operate in shallow waters.

◻️ The Evpaty Kolovrat was laid down in 2018 at the Almaz Shipbuilding Company’s wharf in St. Petersburg. A second 21180M vessel, the Svyatogor, was laid down in September 2023.

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EU needs to butt out of South China Sea territorial spats

The Chinese diplomatic mission in Brussels rebuked the European Union on Friday after the bloc issued a statement on the anniversary of 2016 arbitration by The Hague ruling that a disputed area of the South China Sea belongs to the Philippines, not China.

Beijing, which rejects the ruling, pointed out that the EU “is not a party to the South China Sea issue,” and called the bloc’s disregard for “the history and facts of the South China Sea issue” “extremely irresponsible” and “not conducive to regional peace and stability.”

💬 “The EU issued this statement mainly out of the selfish and narrow geopolitical interests of the United States and the West,” Zhu Feng, director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea at Nanjing University, told Sputnik China, pointing to recent efforts to drag NATO’s European members into Asia-Pacific affairs.

Dmitry Mosyakov, a leading Russian Southeast Asian affairs observer, echoed Zhu’s concerns, saying the Philippines “is mistaken to think that as long as its allies support it, it can force China to make some concessions on territorial disputes. Coordinated pressure on China can only have the opposite effect, because China will see foreign countries’ attempts to intervene in the dispute as absolutely unacceptable.”

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Orban’s Patriots of Europe closes ranks with non-mainstream forces around Europe

The group of right-wing parties in the European Parliament created by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban in the last two weeks has become the third largest group in the EP, EUobserver reports.

What is the key to its sudden success?

◻️ Opposition to mainstream right. The European Conservatives and Reformists bloc led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tends to follow the general EU agenda, including military aid to Ukraine. As EUobserver reports, “Meloni shed her radical image, compromising by giving support for Ukraine.” But Orban’s peace mission and talks with Russia, widely condemned in the EU, got public assurance of his ability to stand up to the European mainstream. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who also opposes arms supplies, said his Smer party was considering joining Orban’s group.

◻️ Uniting Eurosceptics. Patriots of Europe attracted Eurosceptic parties such as Spain’s Vox, the Portuguese Chega!, the Czech Action of Dissatisfied Citizens and the Belgian Flemish Interest. All these forces have common ground on a range of economic and social issues, along with general criticisms of EU institutions and policy.

◻️ Solid right-wing heritage. Two-thirds of Patriots of Europe MEPs are former members of the now-defunct Identity and Democracy group. They include the French MEPs from Marin Le Pen’s Rassemblement Nationale, Italy’s Lega, the Dutch Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders and the Austrian Freedom Party.

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Turkey is holding talks with Russia and Ukraine about resuming the "grain corridor," President Erdogan said, adding that the issue was discussed with both Putin and Zelensky.

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◻️ Scott Ritter: Ukraine an 'open target for Russia to take apart'

◻️ US ‘had a hand’ in provocative decision by Europe to develop long-range cruise missiles – expert

◻️ Find out which American states show strong secessionist sentiments

◻️ Fast facts about America’s Aegis Ashore missile defense base in Poland

◻️ Meet Russia’s new Arctic Bogatyr: What we know about the Evpaty Kolovrat icebreaker

◻️ Message to NATO? Belarusian-Chinese joint drills have alliance sweating bullets

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🔥 The Russian BM-21 Grad MLRS wipes out AFU units on the right bank of the Dnepr River.

Russian fighters destroyed a Ukrainian stronghold, firing positions, and observation posts.

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Biden ‘will probably’ keep his gaffes coming - campaign chief

“Joe Biden has been making gaffes for 40 years. He made a couple last night. He will probably continue to do so,” Biden campaign communications chief Michael Tyler said during a White House press briefing.

At the solo press event following the NATO summit in Washington, Biden mistakenly introduced Russian President Vladimir Putin as Ukrainian president, with Volodymyr Zelensky standing right beside the POTUS.

During the same press conference, Biden then went on to mention his Republican challenger Donald Trump as his vice president instead of Kamala Harris.

The blunders come amid concerns among some Democrats about Biden’s viability as a candidate, following a lackluster debate performance against Trump last month. However, Biden and his campaign have said that he intends to act as the Democratic Party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential race.

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Iran ‘deeply values’ its friendship with Russia and China - President

China and Russia have always supported Iran in difficult times, and Tehran really cherishes its ties with the two nations, Iranian President elect Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in an article named "My message to the world" published in the Tehran Times newspaper on Friday

"China and Russia have consistently stood by us during challenging times. We deeply value this friendship," the president said.

The president-elect also called Russia a "valued strategic ally" of Iran, adding that his administration will remain committed to expanding Tehran-Moscow cooperation.

"I will continue to prioritize bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Russia, particularly within frameworks such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Eurasia Economic Union," Pezeshkian also noted.

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