Månad: juli 2021

[…] Finlands säkerhet och framtid är de arbetsuppgifter som är aktuella för presidenten, säger Sauli Niinistö.

Mest tid tar kontakterna till omvärldens statsöverhuvuden och tiotals rapporter dagligen för att söka information om hur Finland påverkas. Dessutom nämnde presidenten mer konkreta säkerhetsfrågor och landets inre säkerhet.

President Niinistö betonade behovet av en egen nationell utrikespolitik, vid sidan av EU. Det borde inte bara någon tävling, men alla länder som kan, har också en egen utrikespolitik.

Dessutom kommer frågan om vilken EU:s gemensamma utrikes- och säkerhetspolitik egentligen är, den är ju mest bara inofficiella överenskommelser, sa presidenten. Och ibland är bara några länder inblandade, till exempel Frankrikes och Tysklands trepartsmöten direkt med Ryssland, USA och Kina. Ingen av dem representerar en EU-institution, men den mottagande parten anser sig säkert tala med EU, eller åtminstone representanter för europeiska åsikter. Det är bra med dialog, men EU är nog lite på sidan om, också där, sa president Niinistö.

– Jag har kanske haft lite tur när jag fått diskutera med både USA:s, Rysslands och Kinas presidenter lite tätare än man brukar få göra i Europa. Ryssland ser nog lite annorlunda ut vid Belgiens kust än här hos oss. Vi har andra vinklar och problem, sa president Niinistö som en motivering för en egen utrikespolitik som kan gå åt andra håll än EU:s.

De direkta kontakterna med president Putin fungerar, sa president Niinistö. Om coronaläget tillåter så finns det ett besöksprogram väntande. Läs artikel

Amid considerable global turmoil in 2020, the relatively strong performance of the Chinese economy and continued commitment to defence budget growth contributed to the robust performance of Chinese defence state-owned enterprises (SOEs). While all Chinese firms in the Defense News Top 100 global defence companies list for the 2019 financial year ranked in the top 24, all seven SOEs ranked in the top 20 for 2020, suggesting a generally positive performance despite the impact of COVID-19 on China’s economy in early 2020.

The IMF estimates that Chinese real GDP had recovered by the second quarter of 2020, with annual GDP growth reaching 2.3% in 2020 compared to a 3.3% contraction in global output, while IISS figures indicate that defence spending grew by 5.2% in real terms compared to 3.9% growth in global spending. Chinese SOEs focused on the aerospace domain generally saw revenue growth slow, while more diversified companies specialising in small arms, unmanned systems and advanced weapons performed well. As global trade slowed, companies with a diversified portfolio were in a good position to benefit when domestic demand turned inward.

The combined defence revenues of the Chinese SOEs in the Top 100 came to an estimated US$96 billion in 2020, growing by 7.3% compared to 2019. This figure dwarfs the combined total of all other Asian companies included in the list, including major entities in Australia, India, Japan and South Korea, which grew by 5.7% to reach US$22bn. The Chinese total is now comparable to the total defence revenues of all European defence firms on the Top 100 list whose combined revenues grew by just 2.5% to reach US$100bn in 2020. Läs artikel

Totalt 46 F-35 jagerfly har ikke fungerende motorer, skriver The Drive. Det bekrefter generalløytnant Eric T. Fick, som leder F-35 programmet i det amerikanske luftforsvaret, overfor nettstedet.

Bakgrunnen for de dysfunksjonelle motorene er et problem med et varmebeskyttende belegg i turbinen. Belegget har blitt slitt ut fortere enn antatt, og det kreves nå store reparasjoner før flyene er operative.

Den 8. mai i år var det registrert totalt 283 F-35 fly i det amerikanske luftforsvaret, skriver The Drive. 15 prosent av jagerflyene er dermed ute av spill. Läs artikel

Nettstedet Defence News gav nylig ut en oversikt over verdens største produsenter av våpen og militær materiell for 2021. De ti øverste plassene består av henholdsvis seks amerikanske, tre kinesiske og ett britisk selskap. Som året før troner Lockheed Martin, som blant annet produserer F-35 kampfly, øverst. Deretter følger Raytheon og Boeing på de neste plassene.

Seks av de ti største amerikanske forsvarsbedriftene hadde en vekst i omsetning på seks prosent eller mer – totalt rundt 11 milliarder dollar – sammenlignet med regnskapsåret 2019, i følge Defence News. Läs artikel

There will be no peace in Ukraine until its domestic politics are brought into conformity with its cultural reality.

Ukraine’s independence in 1991 created a nation-state whose two predominant cultural constituencies were unevenly divided between urban and rural, between wealthier and poorer regions, and between the more and less educated. The historical disbalance in favor of the Russian-speaking in each of these groups automatically made the status of the Russian language in Ukraine an issue of political contention.

Political elites from the westernmost region of Ukraine—Galicia—who before 1939 had been part of Poland, and before that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, argued vehemently that for Ukraine to become truly independent, the use of Russian had to be restricted. State policy, they argued, should aim at creating a Ukrainian national identity based on their own Galician identity which, given the oppression of the Soviet era, was now the only authentic Ukrainian identity. In those halcyon days many Russophone Ukrainians, seeking to distance themselves from the legacy of communism, also supported a gradual Ukrainianization. As Ukraine’s first president Leonid Kravchuk explained to them in the run-up to the independence referendum, they would be “full-fledged owners” of the country, and they would always be guaranteed “preservation of full-blooded, unhindered ties with Russia and other sovereign states of the former Union.” With this understanding, they voted in large numbers for Ukrainian independence at the end of 1991. Läs artikel

Russlands nye angrepsubåt er så stillegående at den blir beskrevet som «et sort hull».

De siste dagene har amerikanske og allierte satellitter fulgt med på proviantering og andre forberedelser til ubåten K-561 «Kazan» sitt neste tokt i nord. Kazan er nummer to i Jasen-klassen og en kraftig forbedring av den første, K 560 Severodvinsk, som ble sjøsatt i 2013.

Amerikanske, britiske og franske ubåter er fordelt rundt i Nord-Atlanteren. Amerikanske P-8 Poseidon-fly og norske Orion overvåkningsfly har planlagt koordinerte tokt over ulike områder i nord. De norske etterretningsskipene MS Marjata og MS Eger er sendt nordover. Läs artikel

While the US-Turkey tussle could be a major stumbling block before NATO, there is another vital factor that seems to have been glossed over by the western military alliance.

China was a major focus of the NATO Summit held in Brussels last month. The concluding statement of the summit noted, “China’s stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security.”

Pointing to the rapidly increasing military capabilities of China, NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg warned that China was “coming closer” to NATO in military and technological terms.

In its last Strategic Concept issued in 2010, China did not even find a mention. In order to counter China, NATO seems to prioritize cohesion and unity to foster the political strength in the alliance. Läs artikel

Syria rocks under continued US bombing and reels under withering US sanctions. But why? Why are we still not friends with Syria?

Bashar al-Assad has long courted a relationship with the west. He has long been willing to act in a way that would make friendship possible. In his 2009 article entitled ”Syria Calling,” Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh says that then Senator John Kerry, who was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and who had just met with Assad, said that Assad ”wants to engage with the West….Assad is willing to do the things he needs to do in order to change his relationship with the United States.” Hersh says that Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the ruler of Qatar, told him that ”Syria is eager to engage with the West.”

Amongst the many ”things he needed to do,” the US would want him to prove himself in at least five areas: 9/11, ISIS, chemical weapons, Israel and Iran. He proved himself in all five. Läs artikel

Daniel Hale, an active-duty Air Force intelligence analyst, stood in the Occupy encampment in Zuccotti Park in October 2011 in his military uniform. He held up a sign that read “Free Bradley Manning,” who had not yet announced her transition. It was a singular act of conscience few in uniform had the strength to replicate. He had taken a week off from his job to join the protestors in the park. He was present at 6:00 am on October 14 when Mayor Michael Bloomberg made his first attempt to clear the park. He stood in solidarity with thousands of protestors, including many unionized transit workers, teachers, Teamsters and communications workers, who formed a ring around the park. He watched the police back down as the crowd erupted into cheers. But this act of defiance and moral courage was only the beginning. Läs artikel

Sverige är ett av åtta länder som bidrar med soldater i Task Force Takuba, den franskledda insatsen i Mali. Därför marscherade svenska soldater på onsdagen längs Champs Elysées i Paris under firandet av den franska nationaldagen.

– Det är stort att få vara en del av detta och ännu större att vi fick äran att gå först i paraden, säger överstelöjtnant Miguel Riera, kontingentschef.

Soldater ur Task Force Takuba fick hedersplatsen som första förband i paraden, därefter följde närmare 5 000 soldater ur de franska väpnade styrkorna. Det gjordes en överflygning av franska flygvapnet och uppvisningsenheten La Patrouille de France flög paraden och färgade himlen i trikolorens färger.

–  Våra svenska soldater har fått beröm av fransmännen såväl för insatsen som för genomförandet av paraden, säger Miguel Riera. Läs pressmeddelande