ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Plans to deploy a battalion of marines near Ulleungdo Island, located dangerously close to Liancourt Rocks, claimed by Japan, have been announced by South Korea. South Korea has announced its plans to deploy a battalion of marines near Ulleungdo Island, located dangerously close to Liancourt Rocks in Sea of Japan, a group of islets – a resource-rich territory, also claimed by Tokyo . According to the Seoul’s military command, the main reason of such a move, which may anger the US and provoke Japan, is North Korean aggression. As the Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korean military officials, construction of facilities on the island will begin next year. According to the plan, the South Korean Armed Forces will deploy a company or battalion-sized force of marines and assault amphibious vehicles on the island by 2018. It is the first time, when any definite dates for the deployment have been mentioned by South Korean military. Meanwhile, the Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported th

By Peter Koenig Just as this article was ready to go to print, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia. This is what the Official website of the Nobel Prize reports: “The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220 000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people.” The announcement was made on Friday 7 October, 11:00 a.m., well after the rejection of the gratuitous plebiscite by less than 0.5% of less than 40% of eligible voters, and after President Santos had already decided and declared to extend the ceasefire to 31 October 2016 until which date a renegotiated arrangement had to be found with the FARC ‘rebels’ – a virtually impossible task. – This is so reminiscent of another Peace pr

Written by Dr. Radko Handjiev; Originally appeared at A-specto , translated by Borislav exclusively for SouthFront Hardly anyone now doubts that the Hungarian referendum on October 2016, was the start of the inevitable disintegration of the European Union as such. Just as in October 1956, Hungarians again marked the beginning of the disintegration of the Soviet bloc. Whether the collapse of the EU will be total, or on its remains will form several sovereign interstate associations (Scandinavian, Visegrad, etc.) as the British one already did, depends on the will of the peoples of these countries, and especially on the antagonism between different factors of realpolitik. So let’s not speculate before the White House acquires a new owner … On October 2, Hungarians had to answer the question: “Do you want the European Union to decide to allocate persons in Hungary who are not Hungarian citizens, without the consent of the Hungarian Parliament?” Democratically through a referendum! As in 2

This is the newst update of the ‘U.S. Carrier Strike Groups Locations Map’ exclusive series showing the approximate locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups on a weekly basis. SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence tracks locations of U.S. aircraft carriers using the available open-source information. No classified information was used in production of the map. Click to see the full-size map Carrier strike group (CSG) is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is centered on an aircraft carrier and a carrier air wing (CVW) of 65 to 70 aircrafts. It’s composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates. A carrier strike group also, on occasion, includes submarines, attached logistics ships and a supply ship. Carrier strike groups comprise a principal element of U.S. power projection over the world’s oceans.

Click to see the full-size map The map below depicts the military situation in northern Hama after the recent counter-attacks by the Syrian army and its allies in the area . The loyalists have regained from terrrorists Tulaysiya, Sha`tha, Junayna, Qahira, Ras al`Ayn and Khafasin. Now, the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces are advancing further in the area.

According to unnamed source in the US intelligence, the Iskander-M ballistic missile systems have been deployed by Russia in Kaliningrad region. Photo: Sputnik / Alexei Danichev The US believes that Russia deployed the Iskander-M ballistic missile systems in Kaliningrad region, the Reuters news agency reported on Saturday, citing a source in the US intelligence. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the reasons of deployment of the ballistic missile systems in Kaliningrad “could be innocuous.” “They moved a similar missile system to Kaliningrad in 2014 for a military exercise. It could also be a political gesture – a show of strength – to express displeasure with NATO,” the US official told Reuters, commenting on the information, appeared in Estonian media earlier. There still are no comments of the Russian side in connection with the statement. Click to see the full-size image According to the annual report ‘International Security and Estonia 2016’ , published

The US has attempted to direct attention away from the fact supposed "moderate rebels" it has been supporting are now openly aligned to designated foreign terrorist organizations including Al Qaeda, Jabhat Al Nusra, and the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (ISIS) by focusing instead on the alleged "humanitarian crisis" unfolding amid final operations to restore security to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. Syria Already Controls the Vast Majority of Aleppo The operation however, headed by Syrian forces and supported by its allies including Russia, aims to bring the last remaining districts of the city under government control. Already, the vast majority of Aleppo's remaining 2 million residents live in government controlled territory, with less than a quarter of a million trapped in terrorist held sections of the city. The Syrian Ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, during a recent interview reiterated the fact that not only do 1.75 million of Aleppo