ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The US Military will conduct its first-ever missile drill on the Japanese Island of Okinawa, located in the East China Sea, as Washington attempts to counter an increasingly aggressive China.  Japan Times  reported on Thursday that the US military had notified Japan’s government that it would deploy anti-ship missile systems around the strategically important island this year, the original story was released by Sankei Shimbun. The war exercise would fortify the island with possible truck-mounted anti-ship cruise missile systems seen as a countermeasure to potential attacks from Chinese surface-to-sea ballistic rockets, the paper said. China has repeatedly railed against US military expansion in Asia and the Pacific, describing the presence as a source of regional instability. In the last several years, Chinese warships have navigated near Okinawa, where roughly half of the 54,000 American troops are stationed, in an attempt to curb US military dominance in the East China Sea.

By the end of the year, the situation has grown more tense. This is particularly true of Algeria which will undergo a change in supreme leadership. The current president is ill, his surrounding and political elites are in a state of uncertainty, the new configuration of alliances is difficult of predict. The situation is no less fluid in Tunisia due to the conflict among party blocs, and Libya where attempts to resolve the conflict have been failing irrespective which external actors are backing these efforts. Algeria President Abdelaziz Bouteflika could not receive Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman Al Saud due to a persistent cold, which was reported by Reuters citing the presidential chancellery. The Crown Prince came to Algeria from Mauritania and before that from Argentina, where he took part in G-20 summit. The president feels so poorly that he may not run in the next election. This led the government to start negotiations with a range of political actors fro

IMAGE: the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) / US NAVY photo The US Navy deployed a new ship pairing – a destroyer (DDG-51) and an amphibious transport dock (LPD-17),  USNI News reported on January 3 rd . The purpose is to test a new concept that could supplement amphibious squadrons and surface action groups as a formation in future operations. It is called the Littoral Combat Group 1 (LCG-1). “USS Somerset (LPD-25), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) and Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SP-MAGTF)-Peru deployed together as Littoral Combat Group 1 in November and December.” While at sea, the group conducted missions that are typical for both ships: supporting Marines and pushing them ashore, embarking a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, hosting a surgical team for humanitarian assistance work, and more. The group’s first voyage was to Valparaiso, Chile, for the Eleventh International Maritime and Naval Exhibition and

This analysis was originally released by SouthFront on December 12, 2018: Introduction The Russian Navy includes, in addition to its surface, submarine, and aviation forces, Coastal Troops which are a separate branch of service within the Navy. Their mission is providing protection for naval bases as well as forces and facilities on the coastline against enemy naval, air, and amphibious attacks. Coastal Troops, in turn, include two types of forces: coastal missile units, and naval infantry. Main organizational structures are brigades, regiments, and battalions. Coastal Missile Forces include stationary and mobile missile systems and coastal artillery units.Their task is to destroy surface ships, coastal facilities, amphibious task forces, and protecting naval bases and their land facilities, as well as ground forces operating in coastal regions. Moreover, CMF may be used to destroy enemy naval bases and ports. Drills at the Balitc Fleet’s range in Kaliningrad Region N