Eurasia

In October, Boeing and Mitsubishi signed an agreement to modernise Japan’s F-15 aircraft so they could carry long-range cruise missiles. The reason why Tokyo decided to upgrade the aircraft was China’s intensifying air patrols over the disputed Senkaku Islands, which have been a big issue for the two nations.

The People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) of China was forecast to have become the world’s navy in late 2019, although it still lacks the global power projection capabilities of its US counterparts. The Pentagon has responded with plans for a dramatic increase in the size of the US Navy using smaller …

A Russian nuclear submarine has successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Defense Ministry said. The Vladimir Monomakh nuclear submarine of the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet launched the four Bulava missiles in quick succession on Saturday from an underwater position in the Sea of Okhotsk.

GT: The Obama administration did not embrace the notion “new model of major power relationship” proposed by China. Do you think there is any chance Biden will reconsider it and why?

The UK’s new MI5 director, Ken McCallum, said that countries such as China and Russia were no longer focused just on traditional espionage activities, such as stealing government secrets, but also on targeting Britain’s economy, infrastructure, and academic research, while seeking to undermine its democracy.

Given the emergency, Washington should immediately close down all of China’s bases of operation in the U.S., including its four remaining consulates — Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco — and substantially reducing the staff of the embassy. The embassy, in reality, needs only the ambassador, immediate family, …

The US announced its adoption of a new map of Morocco on Saturday that includes the disputed Western Sahara, after recognising the Kingdom’s sovereignty over the territory.

“I want to thank the Kingdom of Bhutan and praise the decision to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel,” Ashkenazi said. Israel established full diplomatic relations with Bhutan for the first time on Saturday night.

No claim of responsibility for blast but incident comes as Houthis rebels step up cross-border attacks Saudi Arabia confirmed on Monday that a fuel-transport ship off the port city of Jeddah was attacked by an explosive-laden boat, according to state news agency SPA.

An Assad regime-allied militia has bombed a regime headquarters in Daraa in revenge for the arrest of three militiamen, while two regime soldiers were killed in separate incidents reports Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.