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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• U.S. Navy Ships Interdict Heroin Worth $4 Million with International Task Force US Navy 30 Dec 2021 -- Two U.S. Navy ships seized 385 kilograms of heroin worth approximately $4 million from a stateless fishing vessel transiting the Arabian Sea, Dec. 27.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Department of Defense Releases Tools to Mitigate the Threat of the Omicron Variant of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Department of Defense and Updated Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 15) Revision 3 - Department of Defense Guidance for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Laboratory Testing Service DoD 30 Dec 2021 -- Recently, the Department of Defense released two updated memorandums in an effort to increase safety against COVID-19. The memorandums are titled "Tools to Mitigate the Threat of the Omicron Variant of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Department of Defense" and "Updated Force Health Protection Guidance (Supplement 15) Revision 3 - Department of Defense Guidance for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Laboratory Testing Services."
• DAF authorizes pass for COVID booster US Air Force 30 Dec 2021 -- Airmen and Guardians who are eligible and elect to receive a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are authorized a four-hour pass, or up to four-hours administrative leave for Department of the Air Force civilians.
• Biden Urges Putin to De-escalate Ukraine Tensions VOA 30 Dec 2021 -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday "urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine" in a 50-minute call with his Russian counterpart, the White House said. A senior administration official added that President Vladimir Putin made no concrete promises about the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed along the Ukrainian border.
• Russian Envoy to US Says Situation With NATO Crawling Into Ukraine 'Extremely Dangerous' Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The situation with NATO attempting to move closer to the Russian border is extremely dangerous, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an article published by the US media outlet Foreign Policy.
• Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Biden's Phone Call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia The White House 30 Dec 2021
• Background Press Call by a Senior Administration Official on President Biden's Call with President Putin of the Russian Federation The White House 30 Dec 2021
• Russia to seek firm guarantees of NATO not moving eastward: Foreign Ministry spox Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow seeks firm security guarantees from the West in the upcoming talks between Russia and NATO member states amid rising tensions over Ukraine.
• Russia Needs Legally Binding Agreements on Security Guarantees, Kremlin Says After Putin-Biden Call Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The two leaders were expected to discuss security and strategic issues, including escalating tensions over NATO expansion and Ukraine. Russian and NATO negotiators are set to meet in Brussels for security talks on January 12, following a strategic stability dialogue between senior Russian and US diplomats in Geneva.
• Putin says Russia, Belarus plan to conduct joint military drills early next year Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia and Belarus plan to hold another round of joint military drills early next year, amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West.
• Russia, Belarus Announce Plans For More Joint Military Drills RFE/RL 30 Dec 2021 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka's proposal to hold another round of joint military drills.
• PLA Navy amphibious assault ship holds drills in South China Sea Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently organized drills in the South China Sea for its first Type 075 amphibious assault ship, as it was announced that the vessel has reached comprehensive operation and management capability with its choppers, landing craft and armored vehicles.
• US urged to view China's defense development rationally, objectively: Defense Spokesperson PLA Daily 30 Dec 2021 -- The US side is urged to give up the concept of zero-sum game, view China's defense and military development in a rational and objective light, and do more to facilitate the healthy development of the China-US relationship, a Chinese defense spokesperson said on Thursday.
• China opposes anti-China content in U.S. defense act PLA Daily 30 Dec 2021 -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Thursday expressed strong indignation at and firm opposition to a U.S. defense spending act that contains negative content concerning China.
• Satellite Images of India's Third Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine Emerge Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- With the commissioning of the INS Arihant in 2016, India joined a select group of countries— the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK—which builds and operates Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) submarines. The second SSBN under the project is likely to be commissioned very soon.
• U.S. Concerned Over Iran's Rocket Launch, Linking It To Ballistic-Missile Development RFE/RL 30 Dec 2021 -- The United States voiced concern on December 30 over Iran's new space launch, saying such activities use technology that can help further its ballistic-missile program.
• South Korean Presidential Hopeful Seeks US Support to Build Nuclear Subs in Wake of AUKUS Tensions Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- In mid-September, the US, the UK, and Australia declared the formation of the AUKUS bloc as a platform for defence and security cooperation.
• New mobilization agency formed to show Taiwan's resolute all-out defense: Tsai CNA 30 Dec 2021 -- The launch of a specialized agency responsible for the mobilization of reservists during wartime and for disaster relief is meant to show the world Taiwan's resolute determination to safeguard national security, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Thursday.
• Estonia Plans to Supply Ukraine With Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles, Howitzers Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The Estonian Defense Ministry intends to provide Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles and 122 mm howitzers, Peeter Kuimet, the head of the international cooperation department of the Estonian Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
• Philippines Sets Aside Budget for Acquisition of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture by India and Russia, has stated that customers from Southeast Asia and the Middle East have taken an interest in its supersonic cruise missiles.
• Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Biden's Call with President-elect Gabriel Boric of Chile The White House 30 Dec 2021

Defense Industry

• Contracts For Dec. 30, 2021
• Lockheed Wins $847Mln Deal to Build 105 More F-35 Joint Strike Fighters Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics has won an $847,025,000 US Navy modification contract to provide long lead components for production of 105 more F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, the US Defense Department said in a press release.

Other Conflicts

• 2021: Coups, concentration camps, and creeping conflicts Radio Free Asia 30 Dec 2021 -- The year 2021 opened and closed under the cloud of COVID-19, with countries in Southeast Asia experiencing more serious outbreaks after largely avoiding widespread infections and deaths during the first year of the pandemic.
• Pakistan Sends Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan VOA 30 Dec 2021 -- Pakistan has begun dispatching thousands of metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan as relief assistance, saying the humanitarian and economic situation in the neighboring country requires the urgent attention of the international community.
• Former President Ghani Say He Had No Choice But To Flee Kabul Or Witness Its Destruction RFE/RL Gandhara 30 Dec 2021 -- Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has again defended his sudden departure from Kabul in August, saying he had no choice but to leave the country as Taliban militants bore down on the capital after an agreement with the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump paved the way for their return.
• Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani blames US for collapse of his government Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has blamed the United States for the collapse of his government earlier this year, saying Washington sidelined him during the so-called peace talks with the Taliban.
• Afghanistan's Resistance Movement Calls For 'Global Support' as It Ramps Up Attacks Against Taliban Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The NRF, also known as the Second Resistance, is a military and political alliance of anti-Taliban fighters. It is currently led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of famous commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who mobilised anti-Taliban forces in 1996.
• Yemen calls on UN Security Council to hold Saudi Arabia, its arms suppliers to account for devastating war Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- Yemeni Foreign Minister in the National Salvation Government Hisham Sharaf Abdullah has called upon the UN Security Council to hold Saudi Arabia and its arms suppliers to account in accordance with the international law over their war crimes in the crisis-stricken Arab country.
• Six suspected militants, one Indian soldier killed in Kashmir clashes Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- At least six suspected militants and an Indian soldier have been killed in separate clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, as tensions and fatalities rise in the disputed Himalayan region.
• India Declares Border State a 'Disturbed Area' as Botched Army Ambush Triggers Outrage Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) allows the Indian military to shoot to kill or carry out searches without warrants in those regions classified as a "disturbed area" by the federal Home Ministry. The act also bestows legal immunity to the forces for their actions in these areas.
• UN Security Council condemns Christmas Eve massacre in Myanmar Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- The United Nations Security Council has condemned the massacre in Myanmar of more than 35 people, including four children and two humanitarian workers, blamed on junta troops.
• Pakistan Taliban Claims Responsibility For Attack That Killed Four Soldiers RFE/RL Gandhara 30 Dec 2021 -- Four Pakistani soldiers have been killed in an attack in the North Waziristan tribal district.
• 4 Killed, 15 Hurt in Southwestern Pakistan Bomb Blast VOA 30 Dec 2021 -- A bomb exploded in southwestern Pakistan late Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring 15 others.
• US flies spy aircraft over eastern Ukraine amid rising tensions with Russia Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- The United States has flown a spy aircraft over eastern Ukraine to gather intelligence about Russian activity, even as Washington and Moscow prepare for talks intended to defuse tensions that have raised fears of a conflict.
• US Air Force Flew Second Spy Plane Over Eastern Ukraine Just Hours Before Putin-Biden Call - Reports Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The US Air Force has conducted a second overflight over eastern Ukraine just hours before the planned phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden, US media reported on Thursday.

News Reports

• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, December 30, 2021 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 30 Dec 2021
• Germany Doesn't Rule Out New Sanctions Against Nord Stream 2 Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- The now-completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is prepared to start pumping gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, still needs the approval of German and European regulators, who threatened to put off certification until mid-2022.
• Europe's bid to reduce reliance on Russia complicates gas crisis People's Daily 30 Dec 2021 -- As the single largest supplier of natural gas in Europe, Russia has found itself on the receiving end of many a verbal outburst for soaring gas prices and a looming energy crisis.
• Russia's 'Gas Pivot' to China Poses Challenge for Europe VOA 30 Dec 2021 -- Gazprom, Russia's giant state-owned energy company, is slated to finalize an agreement in 2022 for a second huge natural gas pipeline running from Siberia to China, marking yet another stage in what energy analysts and Western diplomats say is a fast-evolving gas pivot to Asia by Moscow.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on December 30, 2021 PRC MofA 30 Dec 2021
• State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Gives Interview to Xinhua News Agency and China Media Group on International Situation and China's Diplomacy in 2021 Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- The following is a transcript of an interview given by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Xinhua News Agency and China Media Group on the international situation and China's diplomacy in 2021 on December 30.
• As long as China, Russia stand shoulder to shoulder, hegemony will not win: Wang Yi Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, the penultimate day of 2021, hailed the strategic coordination and practical cooperation between China and Russia from the perspective of the pandemic response, economic recovery, regional stability and global governance, highlighting that as long as China and Russia stand together shoulder to shoulder and deepen coordination hand in hand, the international order will not fall into disarray, justice in the world will not collapse, and hegemony will not win.
• China firmly opposes external forces that instigate 'color revolutions' in Central Asia: FM Wang Yi Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- China firmly opposes external forces that instigate "color revolutions" in Central Asia, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in an article published in the People's Daily on Thursday.
• China imposes countermeasures by sanctioning five US individuals for meddling in Hong Kong affairs Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that China would sanction five US individuals, including former US commerce minister Wilbur Ross, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission president Carolyn Bartholomew, and Jonathan Stivers, former Staff Director of Congressional-Executive Commission on China, in response to the recent wrong move by the US side to sanction five Chinese officials over Hong Kong affairs.
• China dismisses frail US meddling in HK affairs with more sanctions; Stand News case not about 'free press' Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- No matter how hard US-led Western forces such as politicians and media outlets try to distort law enforcement on Hong Kong news site Stand News and use so-called freedom of the press to slander Chinese authorities, their ill-intentioned attempts won't change the fact that the site is suspected to have violated local laws, and Chinese authorities, including the HKSAR government, will spare no efforts to safeguard national security. Such resolute determination only makes foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs much weaker, even trivial, experts said.
• Two charged amid international outcry over raid on Hong Kong media outlet Radio Free Asia 30 Dec 2021 -- Authorities in Hong Kong on Thursday charged two senior editors at the now-shuttered pro-democracy Stand News with "sedition" and denied them bail, following a raid on the news website by national security police.
• Beijing-Planned Adviser for Macao Seen as Bringing China Into City's Security Affairs VOA 30 Dec 2021 -- In a move that mirrors its national security clampdown in Hong Kong, Beijing is inserting itself more directly into the security affairs of Macao in spite of long-standing assurances the former Portuguese colony would enjoy a high degree of autonomy.
• PLA sent more warplanes near Taiwan island than DPP authority claimed: China's Defense Ministry Global Times 30 Dec 2021 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) sent a larger number of warplanes for drills near Taiwan in 2021 than the figure recently claimed by the island's secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority, China's Defense Ministry revealed on Thursday.
• PLA's patrols around Taiwan decisive acts against "Taiwan Independence" separatist forces: Defense Spokesperson PLA Daily 30 Dec 2021 -- Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has organized normalized patrols around the Taiwan island, with a view to act decisively against the ill deeds challenging the one-China principle by forces on and out of the island, and defend China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, a Chinese defense spokesperson said on Thursday.
• China warns US of paying 'unbearable cost' for actions over Taiwan Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- China has warned the United States will pay an "unbearable cost" due its actions over Chinese Taipei, saying by encouraging Taiwanese secessionist forces, Washington puts the self-ruled island in a perilous situation.
• China Warns America's Actions Regarding Taiwan Expose Washington to 'Unbearable Price' Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- In early December, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Washington remains committed to the "One-China" policy, but that it is working to "support Taiwan's ability to defend itself".
• Taiwan to take legal action over seizure of former Nicaragua embassy CNA 30 Dec 2021 -- Taiwan on Thursday pledged to take legal action against Nicaragua over the latter's confiscation of its former embassy in the Central American country after both sides ended official diplomatic relations earlier this month.
• Third-day Sitting of 4th Plenary Meeting of 8th WPK Central Committee Held KCNA 30 Dec 2021 -- The third-day sitting of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea took place on December 29 amid enthusiasm for the revolution and struggle of all the participants growing higher after receiving the practical programme that indicates a new path for the development of our style socialism.
• Iran launches 'Simorgh' satellite carrier, bearing three research devices into space IRNA 30 Dec 2021 -- A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry, Ahmad Hosseini, said on Thursday that Iran has successfully launched the Simorgh satellite carrier, bearing three research devices into space.
• Iran successfully launches research satellite into space Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- Iran has successfully launched a domestically-built satellite carrier rocket, named Simorgh (Phoenix), sending three research devices into space, the Defense Ministry says.
• Iran Launches Three New Satellites Into Low Earth Orbit Sputnik 30 Dec 2021 -- Earlier in December, a state news agency reported that four satellites were undergoing final preparations for launch. One of them was set to replace a satellite launched two years ago, but which had failed to stay in orbit.
• Iran's top nuclear negotiator meets with Enrique Mora & European troika IRNA 30 Dec 2021 -- Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani on Thursday met and held talks with the European Union representative in the Vienna talks Enrique Mora and the European troika (representatives of the three parties to the JCPOA) in diplomatic Vienna talks.
• Russia: US, Iran's partners in 2015 deal satisfied with 'positive trends' in Vienna Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- A senior Russian diplomat says the participants in a meeting in Vienna between the US and Iran's five partners in the 2015 agreement have voiced satisfaction with the "positive trends" in the ongoing discussions aimed at securing a removal of American sanctions against Iran.
• Dozens of politicians, activists sentenced in secret Myanmar military tribunals Radio Free Asia 30 Dec 2021 -- Nearly 50 politicians and prodemocracy activists — including the head of Magway region and members of the deposed National League for Democracy (NLD) — have been sentenced to long-term imprisonment by the junta's secret military tribunals in Myanmar over the past two days, according to sources.
• At least 4 people killed as Sudan security forces clash with thousands of anti-coup protesters Press TV 30 Dec 2021 -- At least four people have been shot dead and hundreds of others wounded after Sudan's security forces clashed with thousands of anti-coup protesters in the African country's major cities, including capital Khartoum and Omdurman.
• Georgian Ex-President Returned To Prison, Prompting Concern From His Lawyers RFE/RL 30 Dec 2021 -- TBILISI -- Lawyers for former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili have expressed concerns about his health following his transfer overnight from a military hospital in Gori to a prison in Rustavi.
• Kenyan Lawmakers Brawl Over Controversial Bill VOA 30 Dec 2021 -- Kenyan lawmakers brawled Wednesday as they debated proposed changes to a law governing the conduct of political parties and the formation of coalitions ahead of the 2022 election.