WW3.0 PROVOCATION
US Warship’s South China Sea Passage Sparks Beijing Warning


The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65), along side Singapore Navy’s (RSN) RSS Supreme (FFS 73), participated in Exercise Pacific Griffin 2017. Photo: AFP

 STAFF WRITER WITH AFP JANUARY 20, 2022

A US warship sailed through the South China Sea on Thursday, sparking a warning from China’s military as tensions between the superpowers remain high.

The American navy said the USS Benfold “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law.”

The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said the US ship had “illegally” entered what Beijing regards as its waters.

The PLA “organized naval and air forces to engage in tracking and monitoring as well as to warn and drive (the destroyer) away,” its statement added.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Beijing has ignored a 2016 ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that its historical claim is without basis.

Led by the United States, multiple Western navies conduct “freedom of navigation operations”, known in military circles as FONOPs, to assert the idea that the South China Sea is an international waterway.

Thursday’s passage by the USS Benfold was the first declared FONOP of the year.

It came a week after the United States laid out its most detailed case yet against Beijing’s “unlawful” claims in the South China Sea, rejecting both the geographic and historical justifications.

In a 47-page research paper, the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs said China had no basis under international law for claims that have put Beijing on a collision course with the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian nations.

China has rejected the report.

Over the years Beijing has steadily cemented its control of key islands and atolls in the South China Sea through land reclamation and the construction of military facilities that have alarmed many of its neighbors.

Chinese military calls U.S. warship's trespassing a "serious provocation"

(Xinhua) 08:14, January 21, 2022

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Thursday called the trespassing of a U.S. warship into China's territorial waters a serious provocation.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed into waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea without permission from the Chinese government.

Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said this is not "freedom of navigation" as claimed by the United States but an act that has violated China's sovereignty and undermined the peace and stability of the South China Sea.

Wu said the People's Liberation Army has dispatched air and naval forces to monitor the U.S. warship and warn it off.

"The Chinese military strongly deplores and resolutely opposes the U.S. act," he said, adding that the U.S. military warship's hegemonic behaviors can not be tolerated in China's territorial waters.

Wu urged the U.S. side to understand the situation clearly and stop provocation.

The Chinese military will take all necessary measures to respond to any threats and provocations, and will resolutely protect China's sovereignty and security and safeguard regional peace and stability, he said. 

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)

US & ALLIES EMBASSY ATTACKS; FRIENDLY FIRE

US Navy Creates High-Power Microwave Weapons Division

US Air Force microwave weapon. Photo: AFRL Directed Energy Directorate


JOE SABALLA JANUARY 10, 2022


The US Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) has established a new division that focuses on research and development of high-power microwave (HPM) directed-energy weapons.

According to Naval Sea Systems Command, creating a division specifically for HPM development allows the service to carry out large projects related to directed energy, develop offensive applications, and counter unmanned aerial systems.

The new division makes the NSWC one of only two Department of Defense facilities with a dedicated HPM division, alongside the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate in New Mexico.

“The Navy has strategic objectives to provide effective and affordable ship defense solutions that address growing threats to our ability to project power and protect freedom of the seas,” US Navy senior technologist Dr. Frank Peterkin explained in a press release.
Importance of HPM

Before creating a separate HPM division, the NSWC had only one division under the directed energy umbrella, focusing on HPM and high-energy laser weapon systems.

However, the service made a strategic decision to split them into separate divisions to address the need for continued growth and development in areas with similar technical roots.

Although the two areas have been split up, NSWC HPM weapon systems division head Kevin Cogley said that HPM and lasers can still work together “in a lot of areas,” particularly in disrupting or destroying the electronics of enemy drones, small boats, and missiles.

He explained that HPM is very different from other weapon systems because a person would not see its outward physical effects during an engagement but observe a nearly-instant result on the target’s performance.

“One thing that is unique in the HPM arena is that we can have graduated effects. In HPM, we can have a range of effects on target – from basically jamming a device to physically destroying electrical systems,” he remarked.

HPM systems are being considered for US Navy missiles with non-kinetic payloads and various anti-satellite systems.

Moscow Signal - Wikipedia

The Moscow Signal was a reported microwave transmission varying between 2.5 and 4 gigahertz, directed at the Embassy of the United States, Moscow from 1953–1976, resulting in an international incident. The US government eventually determined it was probably an attempt at espionage, and that there were no significant health effects on embassy staff, although this conclusion has been disputed.^[1]

Microwaves behind 'sonic attacks' on Canadian and U.S ...

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edi…

2018-09-04 · It is well-known that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was microwaved from 1953 to the late 1980s or 1990s, depending on the source. The U.S. engaged in shielding efforts related to that. Health problems...

Havana syndrome: NSA officer’s case hints at microwave ...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/02/havana-syndrome-nsa...

2021-05-02 · The CIA and state department have launched taskforces to investigate and it was reported last week that the Pentagon had launched its own inquiry into suspected microwave attacks on US troops in...

• Author: Julian Borger

 AN OLD TROPE

US: China Developing ‘Brain-Control Weaponry’

 JOE SABALLA  DECEMBER 20, 2021

Several US counterintelligence officials claim that China is weaponizing biotechnology and developing “brain-control weaponry” for potential offensive use.

According to commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, the Asian nation has opted to use biotechnologies for surveillance and tracking in an attempt “to pursue control over its people.”

A senior US official also claimed that China was using emerging biotechnologies to develop future military applications, including gene editing, human performance enhancement, and brain-machine interfaces.

The US commerce and treasury departments have already put the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS) and 11 affiliated research institutes on an export blacklist for supposedly helping the Chinese military develop “purported brain-control weaponry” without defining the technology further.

Brain-control weaponry is a term used by an AMMS official to describe any equipment that interferes with and controls human consciousness during combat operations.

“Today’s action highlights how private firms in China’s defense and surveillance technology sectors are actively cooperating with the government’s efforts to repress members of ethnic and religious minority groups,” top Treasury official Brian Nelson told Financial Times.

China Response

The Chinese embassy in Washington issued a statement on Friday, calling the recent actions by the US government “unwarranted suppression” that violates free trade rules.

Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu explained that biotechnology-related development in China has always been “for the well-being” of its people and that the US claims are “totally groundless.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stressed that the Asian country firmly opposes the move and urged the Biden administration to “rectify its mistaken ways.”

The Chinese officials affirmed that Beijing would take “all essential measures” to uphold the interests of Chinese research institutions.

China Unveils ‘World’s Largest’ Quadruped Military Robot


China's electrically-powered quadruped robot to assist the military on logistics and reconnaissance missions.

 Photo: screengrab YouTube

 People's Daily, China

JOE SABALLA 

 JANUARY 19, 2022

China has introduced what it claims to be the world’s largest electrically-powered quadruped robot to assist the military on logistics and reconnaissance missions.

With a “yak-like appearance,” the four-legged robot can reportedly carry up to 352 pounds (160 kilograms) of payload and run at six miles (10 kilometers) per hour.

The platform’s structure is designed to withstand challenging off-grid military missions and conquer a wide variety of terrain, including cliffs, trenches, grasslands, fields, deserts, snow, and muddy roads.

Despite being reported as the heaviest and largest quadruped robot, the hi-tech unit can run, jump, turn, and walk diagonally.

According to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the platform has 12 modules and state-of-the-art sensors, allowing it to collect tactical battlefield information and perform logistics.

Potential military uses include all-weather operations in high-risk combat zones, remote border areas, and complex environments that have proven too challenging for soldiers.

Technology Advances

In addition to the new robot, China has a bionic mechanical dog named Geda that weighs 32 kilograms (70.5 pounds) and can carry 40 kilograms (88.1 pounds) of payload.

The machine dog understands simple voice commands and employs facial recognition. It has also passed trials conducted in traverse forests, rocky roads, narrow passages, and single-plank bridges.

Last year, a Chinese state-owned company also released a video of the test launch of technology to release a swarm of 48 attack drones in the air.

Chinese news website Duowei News reported that the purpose of the system demonstrated rapid deployment, hovering, and maneuvering of a large number of drones simultaneously.

 

https://www.thedefensepost.com/

Danish Soldiers Deploy to Troubled Mali


Danish Merlin helicopters deployed to the France-led Operation Barkhane in the Sahel. Image: @EtatMajorFR/Twitter

 STAFF WRITER WITH AFP

JANUARY 18, 2022

A contingent of some 90 Danish soldiers has arrived in Mali to join European special forces supporting the country’s anti-jihadist operations, Denmark’s military said Tuesday.

The contingent, whose deployment was announced in April, is stationed in Menaka in eastern Mali. Its mandate runs until early 2023.

“The aim is to stabilize Mali and parts of the Liptako-Gourma tri-border area between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso and to ensure the protection of civilians against terrorist groups,” the armed forces said in a statement.

Denmark has previously sent troops to participate in military interventions in Mali, some with the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping force and others with the French-led Operation Barkhane.

The new contingent is joining Task Force Takuba — a 900-troop French-led unit launched in March 2020.

Other contributors are the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy, and Hungary.

European countries have raised concern over the deployment of mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group on Malian soil and Mali’s delayed return to civilian rule after a military coup in August 2020.

Getting To Grips With Ethiopia’s Ethnic And Political Violence Is Vital For Stability

 – Analysis

 January 19, 2022  

By ISS

By Tegbaru Yared*

Ethiopia’s 2018 transition failed to bring stability to the country. On the contrary, sporadic ethnic and political violence since then has brought the nation to its knees. And its war in the north with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that started in November 2020 has tipped the country into further crisis.

However recent events suggest that there’s hope for a peaceful settlement of differences through negotiations and a genuine, well-designed national dialogue. Planning for this can start, but for such a process to be truly inclusive, the country first needs peace.

A recent statement by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen, signals a move towards a negotiated political settlement. He says the government’s decision not to continue military moves into Tigray ‘opens a window of opportunity to consider other options of resolution that exists without a recourse to war.’

But for successful negotiations and dialogue, all parties need to understand what caused the violence that claimed the lives of thousands since 2018. And then they must go one step further and commit to the cessation of hostilities and destructive rhetoric.

The government recently approved legislation that mandates the lower house to constitute a national dialogue commission. This is a step in the right direction to ameliorate not only the country’s recent violence, but also its historical social and structural divides.

A recent Institute for Security Studies report analysed drivers of Ethiopia’s violent conflicts, emphasising the clashes that occurred between October 2019 and 2020. The report identified the root causes of the political crisis and conflicts that have scuppered Ethiopia’s political transition and that must be addressed.

The goodwill engendered by the 2018 political reforms under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali prevented violent inter-communal and ethnic clashes that so often characterise the early days of political transitions. But his reforms and reconciliatory rhetoric couldn’t contain these conflicts for long.

Some of the problems at that time had rolled over from the post-1991 political order which reconfigured Ethiopia along ethnic lines and declared ethnic groups sovereign. Although this was designed to accommodate such differences, it turned out to be just a façade.

After 2015, the heavy-handed, highly centralised rule of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) heightened ethnic tensions and triggered widespread opposition and mass protests. These provoked the resignation of prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn – and Abiy’s installation in 2018.

Years of protests have created multiple highly mobilised masses across Ethiopia’s regional states, with sharpened ethnic consciousness. Informal youth groups started gaining ground and dominating the polarised political space. Elites mobilised these groups to achieve their political objectives.

At the heart of Ethiopia’s troubled transition, however, has been the contested interpretation of issues as fundamental as the country’s political history and constitution. These have set off inter-elite rivalry and competition over state power and resources.

These two factors coupled with institutional fragility and incoherence within the state and the EPRDF – the ruling party at the time – meant the political transition would face problems from the start. And the ‘complete’ liberalisation of the political space, at a time when it was dominated by highly mobilised ethnic groups, contributed to violence. The mass euphoria in the early days of the political reform was short-lived as clashes and instability began to engulf the Ethiopian body politic.

Ethiopia’s troubles go back even further, however. Contradictory readings about the country’s past have divided political elites, resulting in seemingly irreconcilable ideological views. Since the rise of the student movement in the 1960s and the incorporation of Marxism into the political scene, Ethiopia has been caught between ethnonationalism and pan-Ethiopianism – two competing modes of identity. The 1995 constitution essentially championed the former while the post-2018 reformist group claimed to support the pan-Ethiopian discourse.

The institutionalisation of ethnicity and the resistance against it have also contributed to deepening inter-ethnic rivalry and animosity. For decades, political elites have mobilised their ethnic bases and increased tensions for their own gain. This has created a security dilemma, where tighter security measures on one side pre-empt violence from the other.

Unless a comprehensive settlement is reached to mend the structural deficits and bridge the ideological divide, instability in Ethiopia will continue. Negotiations and dialogue can help mend Ethiopia’s troubled transition. But to do this, all parties need to understand the root causes of the post-2018 ethnic and political violence and military conflicts.

While the government’s commitment to a national dialogue is commendable, the process must be structured and inclusive. It must have legitimacy from the early stages of design and initiation and be free from partisan interference, unilateral agenda setting and spoilers. This will not only signal good faith, but also give credibility to the process and its outcome.

The state and the opposition must redefine the way they conduct politics, and iron out their differences so that citizens can accept a negotiated political settlement.

*About the author: Tegbaru Yared, Researcher, Horn of Africa Security Analysis, ISS Addis Ababa

Source: This article was published by ISS Today

WAIT, WHAT?!
A Cyberattack Against Russia Launched 

by North Korean Hackers

Jan. 18, 2022. | 

Photo: Twitter/@Synchroworks

APT37, the North Korean hacker group, at the end of 2021 attacked the Russian Foreign Ministry and its employees, as a result, the account of a government employee was compromised, according to a U.S. information security experts report.

According to the U.S. information security experts report, as a result of the attack on the Russian Foreign Ministry and its employees by the APT37, the North Korean hacker group, the account of a government employee was compromised.

RELATED:
Russia Warns About Military-Political Situation in the World

Researches at U.S. cybersecurity companies Cluster25 and Black Lotus Labs, reports made by Moscow daily Kommersant demonstrated that a phishing campaign was targeted at the Ministry back in October. The researchers stated that some employees were sent documents and asked to provide vaccination details. In contrast, others were fed with links to malware disguised as software the Russian government uses to collect Covid vaccination statuses resulting in the compromise of one account.

On December 20, the hackers sent a phishing email to Russian Deputy Minister Sergey Ryabkov from the compromised address, also targeting the Russian Embassy in Indonesia.

The North Korean APT37 is well-known for using software called Konni, an administration tool. It is known that the tool has been used to target South Korea and political organizations in Japan, India, China, and other countries. Kommersant reports indicated the group has been operating since at least 2017.

This is not the first time North Korea has been blamed for attempted attacks on Russia. Last November, Kommersant reported another hacker group, the Kimsuky, sending emails written on behalf of well-known Russian experts, scientists, and NGOs.

The Russian security services arrested a group of hackers last week following information provided by U.S. authorities. People were detained in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Lipetsk Region for the Federal Security Service (FSB). The hackers were allegedly members of REvil, a ransomware group known for receiving millions in ransom payments.


TagsAPT37

The Rajapaksas To Blame For Sri Lanka’s Disastrous 2021 – Analysis

Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa (left), Prime Minister and brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (right). Photo Credit: Sri Lanka government

 January 19, 2022  East Asia Forum  

By East Asia Forum

By Neil DeVotta*

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s 2019 election manifesto promised ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’. Professionals for a Better Future (Viyathmaga) were to implement his programs, which would achieve successive years of economic fortune. But Rajapaksa will instead be remembered for presiding over Sri Lanka’s worst-ever year post-independence.

2021 was a year that millions will associate with lengthy queues to purchase sugar, milk powder, kerosene and cooking gas. This is because prices skyrocketed to hitherto unseen levels, thanks mainly to a severely indebted island lacking dollars to pay for essential imports. The year ended with around 1500 shipping containers comprising essential items stuck at port because the government had not released dollars to pay for them.

Inflation in December was 12.1 per cent, having risen from 9.9 per cent in November, with food prices having more than doubled in the past year. The government exacerbated inflation by printing money willy-nilly — as much as Rs 69,100 crore (US$3.4 billion) in 2021. With the focus on the dollar crisis, inflation, and food queues, what is not sufficiently covered concerns those going hungry.

The regime was also linked to various scams that worsened conditions. One such scam centred on the propane and butane ratio in cooking gas cylinders, which caused numerous household explosions and killed and injured individuals. Another centred on contaminated fertiliser from China, which the government was forced to return yet pay US$6.7 million for, apparently due to corrupt procurement. In a country now infamous for impunity, no one was held responsible for corruption or incompetence.

Sri Lanka’s foreign currency inflow has long depended on remittances, tourism and specific exports like garments and tea. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has now killed over 15,000 people, was bound to trouble these sectors. While the government oversaw a relatively successful vaccination program, unsustainable debts plus arrogant and fatuous decision making landed the country where it is.

The nearly three decades-long civil war contributed to these debts, but so did ‘blingfrastructure’ projects former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Chinese partners initiated. Consequently, Sri Lanka must cough up around US$7 billion in 2022 to various creditors to service its debts, which between now and 2026 will amount to around US$26 billion. The possibility that Sri Lanka may, for the very first time, default on its obligations is the reason Fitch Ratings downgraded it in December. The move raised predictable government hackles, but it reflects the balance of payments crisis facing the island. While COVID-19 exacerbated the balance of payments crisis, debt financing was a pre-COVID-19 predicament.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision in April to ban chemical fertiliser was related to this dilemma. Doing so would eliminate US$400 million per year of government fertiliser subsidies. Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor promised an organic agricultural sector within ten years, but this hastily imposed policy negatively impacted farmers. They have since protested unceasingly against the government, joining teachers and others who are also demanding higher wages given the runaway cost of living. It now seems the rice shortage caused by the addle-brained decision to abruptly ban chemical fertiliser, weedicides, and herbicides will likely cost the government US$450 million in rice imports over the next few months.

Rajapaksa’s authoritarian reputation and Sinhalese Buddhist credentials made Tamils and Muslims fear for their future. The continued militarisation of the predominantly Tamil northeast and the ban against burials for those who died from COVID-19 — a policy that especially traumatised Muslims — confirmed their fears. Rajapaksa’s unwillingness to fully investigate the 2019 Easter Sunday Islamist bombings that killed around 270 people, allegedly because forces close to him helped orchestrate the event to promote his election prospects, has also estranged the Christians who voted for him in large numbers.

This and his attentiveness to Buddhist interests aside, the country has thus far not experienced anti-minority violence. Indeed, the difficulties stemming from COVID-19 may have tamed the regime’s rabid majoritarianism. But this was not enough for Sri Lanka to be invited to US President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy. Some think cosying up to China, especially under presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was the reason why. In any case, the pro-China tilt took place amid rampant corruption, increased authoritarianism and an unwillingness to account for human rights violations — major themes undergirding the democracy summit.

The Rajapaksa government is slated to announce a new constitution, which will further strengthen the island’s Sinhalese Buddhist character and presidential powers. The government and its allies command a two-thirds parliamentary majority, but today even cabinet ministers excoriate the regime while allies threaten to desert it. At the same time, Rajapaksa effigies are hit during protests and family members are booed in public.

Even government officials now warn of impending food shortages. Overall, the country’s multiple crises cannot be addressed unless the economy is restructured and embraces a more pluralist climate. Those with vested interests, including the Rajapaksa family, find this threatening. Hopelessness is why some ask the military to take over.

Sri Lanka’s military enjoys status and resources, with many retired and serving officers currently benefitting from sinecures. It is unlikely these individuals want to undermine their positions by taking on a debilitated state. They are more likely to further militarisation under Rajapaksa rule, which does not bode well for democracy.

The Rajapaksa family wants to stay in power and build a political dynasty. Their corrupt governance is a major reason for the island’s recent democratic backsliding. On the other hand, various anti-government protests highlight the island’s democratic resilience. This simultaneous fortitude and retreat notwithstanding, the year ahead may see Sri Lanka mired in violence and militarised autocracy. If so, it will be another year of disasters.

*About the author: Neil DeVotta is a Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University.

Source: This article is published by East Asia Forum and part of an EAF special feature series on 2021 in review and the year ahead.