RUSSIA - NAVY DAY

Photo attributed to: Kremlin Source - The Moscow Times - here.

RUSSIA - Borei class (ballistic missile) submarine nearing completion

Itar-Tass Article Vladimir Monomakh strategic nuclear sub to be delivered to Russian Navy December, 2014 Russia July 27, 11:25 http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/742462

Borei Class Submarine

Type: Ballistic missile submarine

Builders: Sevmash, designed by Rubin
Operators: Russian Navy
Preceded by: Delta IV class, Typhoon class


Deployment strategy

It has been reported that the arrival of the Borei-class submarines will enable the Russian Navy to resume strategic patrols in southern latitudes that have not seen a Russian missile submarine in 20 years.

[Source - wikipedia - here]

The sub to be delivered in December is the third sub in the Borei project, according to the article.

Must be amazing on a sub (or is that in a sub?), lurking about undetected in the deep.

Wonder if it has a periscope?  

Judging by random submarine pics on Google, it might have.

UKRAINE PM ARSENIY YATSENYUK - RESIGNATION

Ukraine prime minister resigns as NATO, Australia prepare intervention in east By Alex Lantier 25 July 2014 The far-right parliamentary coalition in Kiev collapsed yesterday, as the Western-backed regime met with visiting Dutch and Australian officials to prepare a foreign military intervention in war-torn east Ukraine, under cover of investigating the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Fatherland Party) announced his resignation after the withdrawal from the coalition of the fascist Svoboda Party and the UDAR (“Punch”) party of boxer Vitaly Klitshcko. Yatsenyuk will remain as prime minister until either a new coalition is formed or after elections sometime later this year. Billionaire oligarch and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko supported the dissolution of the government, claiming it would permit a “full-scale reset” of the Ukrainian state that Ukrainian society desires. Porsoshenko, who assumed office last month, is hoping that new elections, which Poroshenko can call if a new coalition is not formed in 30 days, will be an opportunity to strengthen his own grip on power. The collapse of the parliamentary coalition points to the weakness of the regime that emerged from the February 22 putsch. As it prepares to support a Western military intervention in the civil war it is waging in east Ukraine, posing the risk of an escalation into a clash between NATO and Russia, the Kiev regime is preparing austerity measures demanded by the EU that will have a devastating impact on broad sections of the population throughout the country. ... KPU officials from the Donetsk region reported yesterday that a KPU official in the nearby village of Glinky, Vyacheslav Kovshun, had been tortured to death at a Ukrainian National Guard checkpoint in the night of July 22-23. He was stopped at the checkpoint, beaten, and repeatedly shot to the legs and chest. He was found dead. These events point to the utterly reactionary character of the regime installed by the February putsch, which was carried out in close collaboration with Washington, Berlin, and their European allies. After the putsch, Svoboda officials filmed themselves beating Ukrainian television executives. Forces like Svoboda and the Right Sector militia—both of which glorify Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with Nazi SS units that carried out the Holocaust in Ukraine during World War II—now lead the Kiev regime's forces in east Ukraine. In his resignation speech yesterday, Yatsenyuk warned that the dissolution of his government might slow the pace of Kiev's unpopular social cuts against the Ukrainian people to fund the civil war. These include billions of dollars in cuts to energy subsidies, social programs, and government workers' wages, while not touching the hundreds of billions of dollars of ill-gotten wealth held by the oligarchs. ...

As the crisis of the Kiev regime mounts, the Western powers and their allies continue to push further to the right in their campaign against Moscow. While this campaign is led by the United States and Germany, all of Washington's imperialist allies are moving aggressively against Russia—now spearheaded by the Australian and Dutch governments, which are cynically exploiting the large numbers of citizens they lost on the MH17 flight. While Washington has been unable to substantiate any of its charges that Russia is responsible for the crash, and evidence increasingly points to involvement by the Kiev regime itself, Australia and the Netherlands are seizing on the crash to justify a provocative intervention in east Ukraine. Yesterday, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop visited Kiev to discuss a military deployment to east Ukraine, ostensibly to secure the MH17 crash site, which is in territory held by anti-Kiev regime forces. The Netherlands announced they would send 40 unarmed military police to east Ukraine, while Australia is reportedly sending 50 police to London as a first stop on the way to Ukraine. The Dutch government is reportedly waging an international diplomatic campaign to post hundreds of Dutch soldiers on the crash site—ostensibly to protect investigators from pro-Russian forces—with the support of the Dutch media. In the Netherlands, Elsevier's commentator Eric Vrijsen demanded that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte “threaten to send in these troops in order to up the pressure on the rebels and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And if he does this, he will probably have made up his mind to act on his threat .... The Dutch Special Forces (army commandos and the Marine Corps Marsofs) are internationally respected. Rutte doesn't have these elite troops at his disposal for nothing.” Such a deployment would be a reckless maneuver risking an escalation into a direct clash between NATO and pro-Russian forces in east Ukraine—that is, a NATO intervention in the Ukrainian civil war and the possible outbreak of war between NATO and Russia itself. The threat of such a conflict erupting was underscored by rising border tensions between Ukraine and Russia. After Ukrainian forces shelled Russian border areas two weeks ago, killing one Russian civilian, Washington alleged yesterday that Russian forces are firing artillery from within Russia at Ukrainian military positions in east Ukraine. Pressed again at a US State Department press briefing yesterday to provide some evidence for her claims, however, spokeswoman Marie Harf was unable to provide any. “This is just some pieces of info I've been able to get from our intelligence friends for you. I can't tell you what it's based on,” Harf said. extract only...full...@... SOURCE - World Socialists Website (USA) - here.  --------------------------------------------

Another article worthwhile taking the time to read.

Aside from indicating Ukraine govt instability, not sure what the resignation means.

Cuts to subsidies, programs and wages, I guess.

But there's also the possibility of war, by the look of it.

NATO Poland base - Blitz against Russia?

NATO Poland base may be prepared for blitz against Russia Published time: July 24, 2014 13:39 NATO’s Europe commander advocates stockpiling a base in Poland with enough weapons, ammunition and other supplies to support a rapid deployment of thousands of troops against Russia, British media reported. General Philip Breedlove’s idea would be presented to members of the alliance at the upcoming NATO summit in Wales in September, according to The Times. The general told a briefing in Naples this week that NATO needed “pre-positioned supplies, pre-positioned capabilities and a basing area ready to rapidly accept follow-on forces.” Several locations for the future stockpile are planned, with the Multinational Corps Northeast, a base in Szczecin near the Polish-German border being the leading contender. “It would be a 24/7 fully functioning headquarters that forces could quickly fall in on to respond rapidly when needed,” the British newspaper cites a source familiar with the expected proposition as saying. Breedlove has been advocating a build-up of NATO assets in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis in the secession of Ukraine’s Crimea to Russia. The alliance has already strengthened its presence in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea and deployed additional military aircraft in Eastern Europe. It said the moves were needed to boost the confidence of eastern NATO members in the alliance’s ability to protect them from Russian aggression. The stockpiling of supplies is just a step short of a permanent massive deployment of foreign NATO troops in Poland. The alliance says it is needed for a rapid response to a Russian incursion, although Russian generals would probably view this as a possible preparation for a blitzkrieg attack on Russia. Moscow considers the build-up of NATO troops in Europe as part of a hostile policy aimed at placing the alliance’s military resources closer to its borders. Russia’s current military doctrine allows the use of all weapons in its possession, including tactical nuclear weapons, in response to a conventional force attack on Russia. Source - RT News - here.

The US look pretty keen on expanding their stake in Europe.

CHINA'S FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER

China's aircraft carrier puts naval ambitions on show Published: 25 Jul 2014 at 10.48 | Online news: Asia Writer: AFP DALIAN (CHINA) - At a northern quayside China's first aircraft carrier dwarfs nearby vessels, its take-off ramp rising higher than the top deck of the cruise ship at the next berth, symbolising the country's naval ambitions. ... Beijing proclaims that China's rise is entirely peaceful and it has no interest in hegemony [imperialism], but analysts say its goal is to surpass the naval capability of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and ultimately rival the US Navy, masters of the Pacific. ... The 300-metre (1,000-foot) Liaoning -- a Soviet-era vessel Beijing bought from Ukraine -- was commissioned in September 2012, and officers have acknowledged that it is not yet ready for combat, with naval fighter pilots taking years to train. But it is only the first Chinese vessel of its type. Analysts say future carriers will be entirely Chinese-made and ultimately nuclear-powered, vastly extending their range. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is already the world's largest standing military, and when Chinese President Xi Jinping went on board the Liaoning last year he spoke of building "a powerful people's navy". Xi has made a point of visiting several military bases since taking office and has said that "being able to fight and win battles is the essence of strengthening the military". ... [British military publisher Jane's] In the medium to long term, they said, China will need "an expanding presence around the world" to secure its interests in resources, markets and shipping routes. "A widespread naval presence thus will be required." Earlier this year reports in state-run media ... saying a second vessel was already under construction in Dalian and two more were in the pipeline. The PLA clouds its activities in secrecy, and the military zones at the tip of the Lushunkou peninsula ... are forbidden to outsiders. ... China has long proclaimed itself as rising peacefully and insists that its military expansion is purely to defend itself. Washington has 10 aircraft carriers at its disposal, soon to rise to 11 when the USS Gerald R Ford enters service.

For its part Tokyo ... will soon have a helicopter carrier of its own, which could potentially be adapted to carry vertical take-off fighter jets. But in recent months Beijing has asserted itself ever more aggressively in maritime territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and several southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea, raising fears of clashes. It has four ships taking part in the US-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) joint exercises off Hawaii, which analysts have touted as a step towards improving military ties, and visiting US Admiral Jonathan Greenert was given a tour of the Liaoning earlier this month.  But Beijing also sent a surveillance ship to spy on the RIMPAC drills, according to US reports citing the US Navy. China's "behaviour in its near seas and its territorial claims suggest that it is going to robustly defend its 'core interests'", said the Jane's specialists. "... you can say that China is closing the gap on Japan in most areas and outpacing it in others," they added. "The PLA has substantial offensive capabilities in the form of ballistic and cruise missiles, fast jets, bombers, amphibious forces, heavy armour, destroyers, frigates and so on, so the idea that it is armed just for self-defence doesn't really wash."  By 2030 China could have four or possibly five aircraft carriers in service, including the Liaoning, says Fisher, and could ultimately decide to build as many as 10. It will be the culmination of decades of ambition, he said, describing Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders' denunciations of the US and Soviet Union for their "imperialist" military capabilities in the 1950s and 60s as "a reflection of their intense envy". "Mao always wanted to have a superpower level of global influence but was also quite happy to condemn those who had it, when he did not," he said. "All of Mao's successors have worked to fulfil a dream of future Chinese strategic dominance." Source - Bangkok Post - here.

China has its first aircraft carrier.

US is about to launch its 11th.

Japan (who may now enter into conflicts abroad) will soon have a helicopter carrier.

Meanwhile, Thailand and Philippines have "jointly called for peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea" (here):

"Tensions spiked anew in the troubled waters when China placed an oil rig in waters it jointly claims with Vietnam, sparking a maritime standoff between the two neighbors and Vietnamese raids on Chinese-ran factories in Vietnam.

China’s expanding law enforcement jurisdiction and patrols encompassing nearly the whole of South China Sea have also alarmed the Philippines as it covers sections of its territorial waters, known locally as West Philippine Sea.

Adding to the tensions is China’s reclamation of at least two South China Sea reefs being claimed by the Philippines that were transformed into artificial islands."

"The Thai minister said his government is hoping for an early conclusion of the code of conduct as well as the full and effective implementation of a non-binding non-aggression document, called Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC.

The DOC was signed by China and the 10-member ASEAN in 2002. It calls on all claimants to exercise restraint and stop new occupation of territories in the South China Sea. However, the document lacks the power to sanction states that violate its provisions.

Sihasak [Acting Thai Foreign Minister] said ASEAN will hold a meeting with China in Thailand in October to try to move forward with the full and effective implementation of the DOC and push for the swift conclusion of a code of conduct in the South China Sea."

Sounds like everyone's nervous of China.

It's early days with the aircraft carrier, but I suppose if you were a small nation in the Pacific having "the world's largest standing military (China's People's Liberation Army) nearby, being a tad nervous or intimidated is understandable.

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NEWS SOURCE # 1 - AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is an international news agency  headquartered in Paris. It is the oldest  news agency in the world and one of the largest. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet. AFP headquarters is in Paris ...

NORTH KOREAN ROCKETS - SAREX - JAPAN DROPS OVERSEAS COMBAT BAN

Japan, South Korea, U.S. begin search and rescue exercise Kyodo Jul 22, 2014 SEOUL – South Korea, the United States and Japan held two days of search and rescue drills south of the southern island of Jeju on Monday, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. The exercise, known as SAREX, has been held once or twice a year.  Source - Japan Times - here.

Japan Times article also said that North Korea has been firing rockets and missiles into the sea, raising tensions in the area.

Finally, the article mentions abduction of Japanese citizens.

Current news story on the subject elsewhere:

Pyongyang abductee probe stirs speculation of early Japan poll Tue Jul 15, 2014 By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - As Japan presses North Korea for information on the fate of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago, speculation is simmering that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could use a possible breakthrough on the emotive issue to call a snap election. History shows that securing the release of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korea decades ago can deliver a hefty, if shortlived, boost to a premier's popularity. North Korea agreed in May to reopen an investigation into the fate of missing Japanese, including those snatched by its agents to train spies in the 1970s and 1980s, in return for Japan easing some economic sanctions on the reclusive state. [...] Support for his cabinet has slipped below 50 percent in several surveys since his July 1 decision to drop a ban that has kept the military from fighting abroad since Japan's defeat in World War Two. [...] SOURCE - Reuters Canada - here.

"SAREX is a search and rescue military exercise of the US military forces with other nations" - [pics here].

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COMMENT

Island of Jeju is island southwards of South Korea.

As a newbie, hard to say what the drills are for.

US, South Korea and Japan are probably working on the cooperation and skills building side of things; and maybe it's also a morale building exercise.

Imagine North Korea might be aware of the presence of the trio, so it could also be about making their presence known in the region.

Or it could just be drills.  LOL.

Funny how emotive issues help raise the stocks of politicians the world over.

What's disturbing is that Japan has DROPPED A BAN that has kept military from FIGHTING ABROAD.

That's big.

Wonder if there's anticipated conflict either in that region or in the South China Sea region.

Again, I've only just started watching this stuff, so I could be right off base speculating in that direction.