Unknown Russian complex near Sevastopol creates strong interference

By Boyko Nikolov On Nov 27, 2023

Recent satellite images shared on the social network, Twitter, appear to reveal an unidentified complex along the Crimean coast, specifically within the Sevastopol region, Obektivno.bg has reported. This complex is generating substantial interference. Notably, the scale of these activities is impressive. Interference signals have also been detected in the Yevpatoria region, pointing to the significant power of the equipment in use.

The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite captured images on November 24, a fact that leaves experts baffled. The mystery lies in deciphering whether the images portray a radio-electronic warfare system or a high-intensity radar system.

The goal of this activity seems to be enhancing the robustness of defensive strategies against drone and maritime unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] attacks from Ukraine. It can be inferred that these steps are predominantly targeted at bolstering the safeguarding of essential infrastructure and facilities on the peninsula.

Perhaps a radar system?

Don’t jump to the conclusion that the detected disturbances are indicative of a novel Russian radar system. There’s a reasonable likelihood that it’s an established radar system, but newly incorporated into Crimea’s air defense. This assumption becomes all the more plausible when you consider that the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters are situated in Sevastopol, which was targeted, along with several Russian fleet submarines and boats.

Two radar systems from Russia, namely Voronezh – with its variations, Voronezh-DM and Voronezh-M – and Nebo-M, hold the capacity to thwart any attempts at “satellite capture” through their jamming capabilities.

Photo credit: Twitter

Voronezh

Both modifications of Voronezh can make unusual interferences in a radius of more than 150 km. Voronezh-DM and Voronezh-M systems are capable of emitting powerful electromagnetic waves that can disrupt or interfere with nearby electronic devices and communication systems. The interference is caused by the radar’s transmission of high-frequency radio waves, which can create electromagnetic fields that interfere with the normal functioning of sensitive equipment within a 150 km radius.

The Voronezh-DM radar system, for example, operates in the decimeter wavelength range and is designed for long-range detection and tracking of ballistic missiles. Its powerful radar beams can cover a large area, and within a 150 km radius, the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar can interfere with various electronic devices, such as radios, televisions, and even some communication networks. The interference occurs when the radar’s electromagnetic waves disrupt the normal transmission and reception of signals by these devices.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Similarly, the Voronezh-M radar system, which operates in the meter wavelength range, can also cause interference within a 150 km radius. This radar system is used for detecting and tracking various types of targets, including aircraft and ballistic missiles. The powerful radar signals emitted by the Voronezh-M can interfere with electronic systems and devices within its range, affecting their performance or even causing them to malfunction. The interference is a result of the radar’s high-power transmissions and the electromagnetic fields they generate.

Another radar system that can cause interference in a radius of more than 150 km is the Nebo-M radar. Nebo-M is a mobile three-dimensional radar system designed to detect and track aerial targets, including aircraft and missiles.

Photo credit: RT

It has a range of several hundred kilometers and is capable of operating in a variety of weather conditions. The Nebo-M radar system is known for its advanced electronic countermeasures capabilities, which can disrupt satellite imagery and make it difficult to capture its exact location.

On the 14th of September, BulgarianMilitary.com shed light on a similar incident. SATIM Inc astutely noticed unusual changes in the TU-95 and TU-160 SAR signatures. The company has used SAR imagery from Umbra. Umbra satellite was over the Engels-2 military base in Russia.

When examining signal reflections, you might come across some odd characteristics that don’t align with the usual geometric structure and material makeup of the aircraft. It’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole – the pieces just don’t add up. This inconsistency could be a sign of new and sophisticated camouflage techniques, implemented to protect valuable aircraft from possible drone strikes.

Photo credit: SATIM / LinkedIn

The Engels-2 Air Base plays a crucial role in Russia’s strategic defense operations, housing a substantial portion of the nation’s powerful, long-range strategic bombers fleet.

SATIM has answered

An online user presented a question to the company: “Do the changes affect the performance efficiency of your ATR algorithms?” The company reassured that any effects of camouflage on the end results have been minor. The SATIM solution usually manages to identify these types of samples. Despite the additional reflections from the wings, SATIM says. But key aircraft components in the SAR signature enable this, SATIM added.

“SATIM has observed similar events in winter scenarios where airplanes are cloaked in snow. This significant detail is being carefully integrated into our AI solutions,” the company highlighted.

***

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Indonesian presidential candidate Anies rejects new capital Nusantara as creating ‘new inequality’

Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan (left) and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar

Arlina Arshad
Indonesia Bureau Chief
AFP

JAKARTA – Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has shot down the idea of moving the country’s administrative capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, saying this will create “new inequality” among different regions.

“What is needed in Indonesia today is equitable growth where development is carried out not just in one location, but also in many locations,” he said on Nov 26.

“This is our vision and we (in the coalition) are all preparing a programme structure to be able to encourage villages to develop – small towns to become medium, medium ones to become large throughout Indonesia.”


“Don’t let us build only in one location, which actually creates new inequality,” Mr Anies said, adding that the budget allocated to one location must be replicated in others too.

He was responding to a journalist who sought his thoughts on a statement by Islam-based opposition Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) – one of the parties supporting his presidential bid – which rejected the plan to shift the capital.

PKS president Ahmad Syaikhu said at the party’s national working meeting on Nov 26 that Jakarta should be retained as the national capital, and Nusantara can instead become the centre of economic growth when it is completed.

Another party supporting Mr Anies, the National Awakening Party (PKB), is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Its vice-chairman Jazilul Fawaid said PKB wants to see how the coalition parties fare in the upcoming elections, according to the Kompas national newspaper.

On Mr Anies and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar, Mr Jazilul said: “We want to have them win the election first so they can make the best decision (on the capital project).”

President Joko Widodo announced in 2019 the development of the new capital city in East Kalimantan, on Indonesia’s half of Borneo island, arguing that Jakarta was congested and sinking. The plan is for Nusantara to be the centre of government, while Jakarta will remain the country’s business and economic centre.

Mr Widodo hopes to officially launch Nusantara as the capital on Aug 17, 2024, to mark the country’s independence day. But the ambitious legacy project which costs a whopping 466.9 trillion rupiah (S$40.2 billion) has been hit by delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and investor uncertainty over whether his successor will continue the project.

At a public event in March 2023, Mr Anies had expressed his commitment to deliver the project, saying the new capital was “not only an idea”, but had become a law and “our vow is to implement the law”.

Under a law passed by the Parliament on Jan 18, 2022, it is mandatory for whoever wins the presidency to see through the development of the project.

But as campaigning goes into full swing ahead of the presidential and legislative elections on Feb 14, 2024, Mr Anies is singing a different tune.

The former Jakarta governor also voiced his objection to the project at a university dialogue on Nov 22.

Analysts say Mr Anies had waited for Indonesia’s General Elections Commission to officially name him a presidential candidate on Nov 14 before making his true opinion clear.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Indonesia’s new capital project won’t be affected by leadership change: Jokowi

Can President Joko Widodo pull off his Nusantara legacy? His successor holds the key


In Indonesian politics, alliances are fluid and subject to change, so making such controversial statements earlier might have scuttled his chances of candidacy.

Dr Athiqah Nur Alami, a political analyst from the National Research and Innovation Agency, said Mr Anies has echoed the views of critics, particularly observers of urban and environmental studies and civil society groups, who had earlier questioned the viability of the project.

“The development of Nusantara is still a big question mark in terms of whether it is equitable to other regions in Indonesia, and also surrounding areas around Nusantara, namely the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda,” she told The Straits Times.

Dr Athiqah did not rule out the possibility that future unsupportive presidents could ditch the project.

Even though there is a law to ensure that the project is carried out, “it’s still possible” to revise the law, she noted.

“Whether it will be revised or not depends on the composition of political power in the future Parliament,” she said.

The upcoming presidential palace in Nusantara. 

PHOTO: ST FILE


Dr Tauhid Ahmad, executive director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, had told ST in July that Mr Widodo’s successor could issue emergency regulations, known as Perppu, to overrule or modify existing laws.

Recent presidential candidate popularity polls had ranked Mr Anies third, behind Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and Mr Ganjar Pranowo, who is former Central Java governor.

Whether Mr Anies’ objection could sway voters remains to be seen, but Dr Athiqah said “it will definitely be on investors’ minds”.

Mr Widodo had hoped to rely mainly on private funding to develop the new capital, with the remaining 20 per cent paid for from state coffers.

In a statement on Nov 16, the president said the government has yet to secure any foreign investments for the project, but remains optimistic that it will do so once more local investors make the move.

A consortium of companies in Indonesia, including Adaro Group and Astra International, have invested about 20 trillion rupiah (S$1.72 billion) in Nusantara.

China-led research team maps chemical composition of lunar surface
CGTN






A screenshot of a figure published in the journal Nature Communications.

A research team led by Chinese scientists has mapped the chemical composition of the lunar surface with high precision, providing key data for the study of the moon's evolution.

Lunar surface chemistry is essential for revealing petrological characteristics in order to understand the evolution of the moon.

Existing chemistry mapping based on the lunar samples collected by Apollo and Luna could only reveal the evolution of the moon 3 billion years ago, missing the critical late period.

The lunar samples brought back by China's Chang'e-5 mission, however, have been proven to carry information about young volcanic activity about 2 billion years ago and distinctive material composition.

The research team accurately estimated the content of major elements on the lunar surface by combining the sample data from Chang'e-5, Apollo and Luna with a deep learning-based inversion model, said Yang Chen, a professor at Jilin University.

They subsequently created a new lunar surface chemical composition distribution map with high precision and high resolution, which comprehensively reflected the chemical characteristics of the lunar surface.

The researchers also calibrated the young mare basalt units based on the newly calculated element content, which will provide reliable data for historical studies of magmatic activity and thermal evolution in the late lunar period and for future lunar sample return missions, Yang said.

The study was jointly conducted by Jilin University, the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Trento in Italy, the University of Iceland and other Chinese and foreign research institutions.

Ouyang Ziyuan, a leading Chinese scientist and the first chief scientist of China's lunar probe project, was also involved in the study.

The study was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

 

Japan faces ‘nightmare scenario’ as growing Russia-China ties could threaten US-led order

• A Japan security report warns that the contest between the US and China-Russia will ‘accelerate’ as the latter seek a ‘non-democratic international order’
• While Japan must step up to secure its interests in the Indo-Pacific, Russia’s war in Ukraine and economic issues mean it can’t yet have a formal security alliance with China, an analyst says

Julian Ryall

Published:  27 Nov, 2023

A new Japanese security report has stated that China and Russia have a shared ambition of creating a global order heavily tilted in their favour, underlining one of Tokyo’s greatest fears – that the two powers may effectively become military allies.

The National Institute of Defence Studies (NIDS), a think tank affiliated with Japan’s defence ministry, last week released its China Security Report 2024, warning that “the contest between the United States and China-Russia over the international order will accelerate” over the coming decade or so.

It pointed out that while Beijing and Moscow had a more complicated relationship in the past, those ideological and political differences had been largely set aside to enable Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to pool at least some of their powers to challenge the status quo.

Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues, said the NIDS report echoed a number of recent white papers and studies in Japan in recent years, but was significant because “it has a greater degree of clarity regarding the non-benevolent characteristics of China and Russia in the modern world”.

Much of the report was focused on efforts by both Moscow and Beijing to undermine and ultimately upset the current world order, Mulloy said, with this now identifiable as an “approach that is more coordinated than in the past to change the extant rules-based order”.

According to the report, the two leaders shared a “common strategic goal” of creating a parallel international order, “based on the fundamental values of freedom and democracy”.

Chinese coastguard personnel take pictures and videos of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships during the PCG’s resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre vessel in the disputed South China Sea. Photo: Bloomberg

It also stated Xi was showing China’s willingness to challenge the existing order by unilaterally claiming territory in the South China Sea and making similar claims elsewhere, not least against Taiwan. Similarly, Putin is pushing ahead with the war in Ukraine, while Russian naval and air units have been active close to Japanese territory, according to NIDS.

Most alarmingly for Tokyo, the report stated that Chinese and Russian warships and aircraft had carried out joint exercises in the Sea of Japan and also completed a joint circumnavigation of the main Japanese islands earlier in the year.

“Japan cannot allow China and Russia to create a non-democratic international order that tolerates unilateral changes to the status quo by force,” the NIDS study warned. “Japan must further strengthen the necessary defence capabilities to deter attempts to change the status quo by reliance on force.”

A key element of the nation’s future security would be to “deepen multifaceted cooperation with the United States, which wishes to maintain the existing order and has strong deterrence capabilities, including nuclear”.

The report also recommended that Japan step up “economic and people-to-people exchanges” with the nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific and use diplomacy with emerging and developing nations in the Indo-Pacific region to “expand common interests” – namely, protecting the existing international order.

“It demands that Japan take more proactive and independent actions to secure its national interests and maintain peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” the paper said.

Academic Mulloy said Tokyo was “alarmed” at the increasing collaboration and cooperation between the two nations’ armed forces in exercises close to Japan, although this was only part of a “nightmare scenario” for Japan.

“This emerging alliance is not the absolute worst-case situation for Japan to find itself in, but it’s a part of it,” he said. “The very worst situation would be this alliance developing and the US withdrawing its forces from the Indo-Pacific region.”

Despite the report’s gloomy outlook, Mulloy pointed out a couple of positives in the current state of regional geopolitics, not least the fact that Russia and China could not be considered a formal security alliance at present, and obstacles laid in the way of that outcome.

Ukrainian soldiers of the 56th Brigade fire a mortar towards the Russian forces in the Bakhmut region. Photo: dpa

Equally, Russia’s war in Ukraine and deep economic problems at home make Moscow very much the junior partner in the relationship, with Mulloy stating that while China was aiming to “displace many of the elements of the liberal international order and then replace them with its own structures that are less bound by international law and order, Russia does not have the strategic architecture in place to carry out” such changes.

“It is clear that Russia is more aligned with China than China is to Russia because Moscow has far fewer options and much less power,” he added.

In addition, the foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea met in Busan on Sunday, the first such in-person meetings for the three officials in recent years. While there was no immediate breakthrough on issues that have bedevilled bilateral and trilateral relations, the trio did agree to step up efforts to arrange a summit of their leaders in the near future.

“It was positive that Japan and China could find some common ground,” Mulloy said. “Japan can afford to let relations with Russia run down and reduce trade because it does not really have any impact here. But not having trade ties with China would have a far more serious impact on Japan.”

Myanmar Civil War: China Calls For An Immediate Ceasefire

Myanmar is currently embroiled in a civil war with numerous armed ethnic and pro-democracy factions fighting the military junta which threw an elected government out of power in a sudden coup in 2021.

Chinese President Xi Jinping AP


Outlook Web Desk

UPDATED: 27 NOV 2023 1:25 PM

Beijing has called for an immediate ceasefire in Myanmar's escalating civil conflict. This comes after a group of armed people, including the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Arakan Army (AA), and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), took control of an important trading spot between the two countries over the weekend.

Myanmar, a South-East Asian nation of 54 million people, is currently embroiled in a civil war with numerous armed ethnic and pro-democracy factions fighting the military junta which threw an elected government out of power in a sudden coup in 2021.

The armed alliance's offensive against the Aung Min Hlaing-led junta has resulted in the rebels gaining control of numerous military positions and a strategically significant town for trade with China. The junta government has acknowledged losing at least three towns, posing the toughest armed challenge to the junta since its ascent to power three years ago.

In response, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) expressed determination to safeguard border security in an editorial published on Sunday by PLA Daily, the news website of the Chinese military.

“Maintaining the security and stability of the China-Myanmar border is the common aspiration and well-being of the two peoples,” it said.

“China pays close attention to the relevant conflicts in northern Myanmar and urges relevant parties to immediately cease fire and engage in peaceful dialogue to avoid escalation of the situation.”

There have been confirmed Chinese casualties and reports of damage on the Chinese side of the border since the conflict broke out in October.

China does not officially recognise the junta government but has maintained good relations with the administration and repeatedly insisted that it would not interfere in Myanmar’s internal affairs.

AFC Cup tie moved after Australia denies Myanmar team visas

The match between Shan United and Macarthur will now be played in Thailand.

AFP - 27 Nov 2023, 

Football Australia did not explain why the visas for Shan United had been denied. (AFP pic)

SYDNEY: An AFC Cup match between teams from Australia and Myanmar has been moved to a neutral venue in Thailand after Canberra refused to grant visas to the visiting side, Football Australia said today.

Shan United were scheduled to play Australian club side Macarthur in Sydney on Thursday as part of the second-rung regional club competition.

But Football Australia said there was “no viable way of playing the game on Australian soil” after officials refused to grant visas to the touring Myanmar side.

The match “has been moved to BG Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand”, it added.

Football Australia did not explain why the visas had been denied, and Australia’s home affairs department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Human rights groups have previously raised concerns about alleged links between Shan United and Myanmar’s military junta.

The Macarthur side was criticised in October after travelling to play in Myanmar against official government advice.

Myanmar's spiraling violence spawns

strategic risks for India

Northeastern border instability, possible Chinese inroads worry analysts

People who fled Myanmar carry their belongings across a bridge to the border village of Zokhawthar, in India's northeastern state of Mizoram, on Nov. 15. 

 © Reuters

KIRAN SHARMA, 

Nikkei staff writer

November 27, 2023 


NEW DELHI -- Fierce fighting in Myanmar has raised "deep concern" in India, which is closely monitoring security along the countries' shared border while bracing for an influx of refugees.

The military regime that seized power in Myanmar in February 2021, ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, is facing arguably its biggest test yet in the form of a coordinated armed resistance. The renewed instability has raised alarm in countries that border the troubled Southeast Asian state, including rival powers India and China.

Operation 1027 -- as the resistance offensive is named, after the date it started in late October -- "has shaken the military" in Myanmar, observed Udai Bhanu Singh, a strategic analyst formerly with the New Delhi-based Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

He said that Myanmar's strategic location has always made it a high priority for Indian policymakers, but that "certain developments have escalated the pace of events in Myanmar, and as a consequence the response from India needs to be appropriate and swift."

"Ironically, it is China that is demanding border security from the Myanmar regime even as Myanmar handed over thousands of telecom fraud suspects to China recently. It is clear that the Myanmar regime is no longer in control over large swaths of its territory and that includes the border with India and the border with China."

India shares a 1,643 kilometer border with Myanmar, which should give it a gateway to the economies of Southeast Asia. Myanmar is integral to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Act East" policy, aimed at promoting economic cooperation and cultural ties as well as developing strategic relationships with the ASEAN bloc and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

The neighbors also share a 725 km boundary in the Bay of Bengal. There, India's goal is to boost maritime security cooperation with ASEAN as part of a broader effort under the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad -- a grouping with the U.S., Japan and Australia that, analysts say, is designed to contain Chinese influence.


The reality on the ground in Myanmar, however, seriously complicates India's strategic objectives, while creating other headaches for the government.

Last week, New Delhi issued a travel advisory, telling Indian nationals to avoid nonessential visits to Myanmar. "Those already living in Myanmar are advised to take precaution and avoid travel to the regions affected by violence," warned the Ministry of External Affairs, which asked Indians in Myanmar to register with its mission in Yangon.

Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed to reporters on Nov. 16 that "there has been movement of Myanmar nationals to the Indian side" as a result of fighting in the Rikhawdar area of Myanmar's Chin state, opposite Zokhawthar in India's northeastern state of Mizoram.

Apart from Mizoram, three other northeast Indian states -- Arunachal Pradesh, strife-torn Manipur and Nagaland -- share boundaries with Myanmar.

"We are deeply concerned with such incidents close to our border," Bagchi said, adding that New Delhi wanted "cessation of the violence and resolution of the situation through constructive dialogue."

"We reiterate our call for return of peace, stability and democracy in Myanmar," he said, noting that since 2021 "a large number of Myanmar citizens have been taking refuge" in India. He did not give an exact figure.

In a report from Zokhawthar on Nov. 18, Indian news agency ANI said that many women and children were among 5,000 Myanmar refugees who had taken shelter in six camps in the area. The report said the Mizoram government was providing them with food, clothes and medical attention. A couple of days later, ANI quoted the top state police officer, Anil Shukla, as saying that around 75 Myanmar army personnel who fled resistance attacks on their camps were "rescued" and repatriated.

Indian authorities "have been handling the situation appropriately on humanitarian grounds," Bagchi said.

Singh, the strategic analyst, views the current situation as "doubly troubling" for India.

"First, a weak Myanmar strengthens China's role in the region. Second, India's northeast is in turmoil as the Meitei-Kuki conflict in Manipur has not yet subsided and is beginning to have its impact on peaceful Mizoram as well."

Common ethnic links across the border also mean that the turmoil in northeast India and unrest in Myanmar "are threatening to have a compounding impact on India," he said.

India "has to be prepared for a change were it to happen after a prolonged struggle in Myanmar," Singh added. "But, the bigger danger is that Myanmar could get splintered before things settle down. And China could profit by it."

Myanmar's Khawmawi village, as seen from the Indian village of Zokhawthar on Nov. 14. © Reuters

China and India are locked in their own tense border dispute, which sparked a deadly clash in 2020, as well as competition for influence across South Asia.

Singh noted that China has vital economic as well as strategic interests in Myanmar. "China is closely monitoring the situation [in Myanmar] and keeping its channels of communication open with the military regime on the one hand and the rebels on the other." China said it would begin "combat training activities" on its side of the border after a supply convoy bound for Myanmar went up in flames.

Meanwhile, despite its calls for restoration of democracy, India has also maintained some ties with the Myanmar regime. A United Nations report released in May estimated that Indian entities had shipped $51 million worth of military-related exports to Myanmar since the military leadership took power.

To a question on these exports, Bagchi said that the two countries, as neighbors, engage and cooperate on various issues. "Whatever actions we take are in the light of our interests," he said. "We are certainly cognizant of our responsibilities, and we keep in mind all factors."

Depending on how the conflict in Myanmar progresses, analysts see more complications for India ahead.

Raj Kumar Sharma, a senior research fellow at NatStrat, an independent think tank working on India's national security and foreign policy, said it would be difficult for India if resistance forces control border posts and trade routes with India. Ongoing instability in Myanmar, he added, could further delay Indian infrastructure projects in Myanmar aimed at boosting connectivity with Southeast Asia, in particular the Kaladan Multi-Modal transit-transport facility between the two countries, and a trilateral highway stretching into Thailand.

"The situation in Myanmar is complex and fluid," he said. "India would need some policy modifications in case the rebels make some [more] serious gains on the ground."