Tag: Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

The ‘Foreign Policy Consensus’ Is Alive and Well in Washington

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The ‘Foreign Policy Consensus’ Is Alive and Well in Washington

by José Niño, Libertarian Institute

Brian Berletic, a former U.S. Marine now residing in Thailand, believes something bigger might be at play with Trump’s foreign policy agenda. The talk of foreign policy restraint vis-a-visa Russia is merely a facade. Berletic pointed out that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “division of labor” framework during his February 2025 address in Brussels will only increase tensions with Russia.

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China’s new hypersonic missile-capable submarine challenges US in Philippines

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

China’s new hypersonic missile-capable submarine challenges US in Philippines: Report

According to the report, the new submarine is capable of carrying advanced hypersonic missiles, allowing for covert strikes beyond enemy defenses and the option to deploy nuclear warheads if needed. Working with other military forces, it will help deter enemy carrier groups and bases within the first island chain.

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Ukraine: MFA welcomes Kellogg’s nomination for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has welcomed the nomination of Keith Kellogg for the position of Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia and expressed its readiness to cooperate.

MFA welcomes Kellogg’s nomination for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

Related:

America First, Russia, & Ukraine by Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg & Fred Fleitz

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PH: America, Marcos and AFP can get us nuked

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

IF advocates of the United States’ access to bases of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US deployment of intermediate-range missiles prove the above headline unduly alarmist, this writer would be most thankful.

America, Marcos and AFP can get us nuked (archived)

Related:

Out-Competing China and Constraining Russia

Forget Hardened Bases, Pacific Conflict Requires Agile Combat Employment, Commander Says

The Plan to Defend Guam from Missile Threats Is Years from Completion: More Investment Is Needed Now

Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles in the Indo-Pacific

The U.S. Alliance with the Philippines

Philippine ruling elite whips up anti-China campaign to justify alignment with US war plans

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As the United States steps up its campaign to provoke China into war, the Philippines has lined up behind Washington, increasingly transforming the country into a lead attack dog in the region for American imperialism. Seeking to obscure the fact that the country has now been placed on the front lines of a catastrophic conflict, the Philippine ruling elite is demonizing China and people of Chinese ethnicity with absurd and lurid claims that Beijing is infiltrating spies into the country.

Philippine ruling elite whips up anti-China campaign to justify alignment with US war plans

World Spending On Nukes Explodes To More Than $90 Billion

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

World Spending On Nukes Explodes To More Than $90 Billion

Honeywell International, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics topped the list of companies profiting from nuclear weapons expenditures.

That flood of public funds to private contractors was coupled by significant spending by these companies on efforts to shape the debate around government spending. The companies spent $118 million lobbying governments in the U.S. and France in 2023 and donated more than $6 million to think tanks researching and writing about nuclear weapons.

Lockheed Martin contributed to the most think tanks, including: Atlantic Council, Brookings Institution, Chatham House, Center for a New American Security, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hudson Institute, and Observer Research Foundation.

China gathers naval leaders worldwide to discuss maritime security while US conducts drills to ‘destabilize S. China Sea’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US and Philippines launch Balikatan joint military drills in South China Sea

This year’s staging of Balikatan, the allies’ largest annual military drill, will include a joint sail in the disputed South China Sea outside the Philippines’ territorial waters. The French navy, a first-time Balikatan participant, and the Australian navy will also join the manoeuvres.

While the US and the Philippines resumed joint naval patrols in the area last year, and the US has in the past sailed there with other allies and partners, it will be the first time that the Balikatan drills have extended beyond 12 nautical miles off the Philippine coast and into waters claimed by China.

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Six Philippine coast guard vessels will also participate in the drill, the first time the service — which has been at the forefront of frequent clashes with China over the past year — has been included in a military exercise.

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Another closely watched component of the drills will be the Strategic Mid-Range Fires missile system, known as Typhon, which has a range of up to 2,500km. The US Army airlifted the system to the Philippines this month, the first such deployment in the Indo-Pacific. Intermediate-range ground-launched missiles had been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, but the pact collapsed in 2019 after both the US and Russia left it.

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Troops will also practise tracking and targeting air and missile threats, retaking enemy-occupied islands in the Philippines’ far north, just south of Taiwan, and sinking a ship off the coast facing the South China Sea, expanding on drills last year.

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The exercise coincides with an annual conference by China’s Navy, which will be attended by senior military officers including from the US. It also comes as US secretary of state Antony Blinken is heading to China on Wednesday in the two countries’ latest effort to manage tense relations.

Related:

China gathers naval leaders worldwide to discuss maritime security while US conducts drills to ‘destabilize S. China Sea

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