CHINA EXTENDS INVASION DRILLS: What China initially said would be a four-day military exercise that would wrap up yesterday has been extended as Beijing continues threatening military exercises that have all the earmarks of a rehearsal for an eventual invasion.
“On August 8, the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) continued to carry out joint combat training exercises in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island, mainly focusing on the joint anti-submarine and air-to-sea assault operations,” China’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. China also announced “exclusion zones” in both the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, where additional Chinese military operations will take place in the weeks ahead.
“The Chinese side has repeatedly lodged stern representations and strong protests over the US House of Representatives Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan,” said a defense ministry spokesman in announcing the cancellation of military-to-military cooperation between the U.S. and China, including “phone calls between the Chinese and US military leaders at the theater command level, cancellation of working meetings between the defense departments of the two countries, and cancellation of the China-US Maritime Military Safety Consultation Mechanism meetings.”
The spokesman accused the U.S. of “deliberately creating tensions” across the Taiwan Strait by “conniving and supporting” Nancy Pelosi’s “rogue visit.”
READY FOR WAR: TAIWAN ISSUES CHILLING WARNING OVER CHINA'S ATTACK DRILLS
TAIWAN: ‘WE ARE NOT SCARED’: In an interview with CNN, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said life is continuing as normal in Taiwan, and he insisted the government won’t be intimidated by the current exercises.
“China has always been threatening Taiwan for years, and it's getting more serious in the last few years, and it's always been that way whether speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan or not,” said Wu. “The Chinese military threat against Taiwan has always been there, and that is the fact that we need to deal with.”
“I worry a little bit … I worry that China may really launch a war against Taiwan, but what it is doing right now is trying to scare us. And the best way to deal with it is to show China that we are not scared,” he said. “Taiwan is more resilient than before. Look at Taiwan these days — you know China is trying to impose trade sanctions against Taiwan, trying to attack Taiwan from military or nonmilitary aspect — the life goes on here in Taiwan, and Taiwan shows its resilience.”
WHITE HOUSE SUMMONS CHINESE AMBASSADOR OVER CONTINUED PROVOCATIONS OVER TAIWAN
CONGRESSIONAL REACTION: Pelosi’s visit continued to get bipartisan support from members of Congress on the Sunday shows.
“I think we’ve got to be very clear that we will defend Taiwan,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Face the Nation. “We’ve got to be very clear exactly what’s going to happen to China if they invade Taiwan. I think all American businesses need to understand that they`re at risk right now if they’re doing business there.”
“This was a very appropriate trip at the time for the region,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who accompanied Pelosi on the trip. “You should have seen, over 250,000 Taiwanese tracked our flight flying in. On the largest building in Taiwan, big signs saying, ‘We love you, Nancy Pelosi.’ People lining the streets when we were driving to our hotel. So, clearly, the Taiwanese were very happy,” Meeks said on CBS.
“The Chinese can't tell our legislators or any American citizens where to travel. And it's bullying and blustering. It's firing these missiles, it's sending its planes in sensitive areas is simply a provocative response,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on CNN. “But I will tell you, China is watching what we do in Ukraine, and that's why we need to send more of the HIMARS, multiple-launch long-range artillery, so that Ukraine is successful in this next month during its counteroffensive.”
“I'm glad she went. If she hadn't have gone, what signal would that have sent to the Iranians and to the Russians?” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), appearing with Blumenthal on CNN. “The right response is to push back against a bully, not cower.”
“Here's what I want China to know. Putin made a big miscalculation,” Graham said. “We're going to strangle the Russian economy as long as they're the largest state sponsor of terrorism. So, if you want to receive what Putin did, try to go into Taiwan. They're going to fight to the last man in Taiwan.”
WRAY WARNS OF CHINA THREAT, DEFENDS FBI EFFORTS TO COMBAT COMMUNIST SPYING
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin departs today for Stuttgart, Germany, where he will preside over tomorrow’s change-of-command ceremony for Marine Gen. Michael Langley, who takes over from Gen. Stephen Townsend as head of the U.S. Africa Command. Langley's promotion makes him the first black four-star general in Marine Corps history.
From Germany, Austin will travel to Latvia “to meet with senior government officials to affirm U.S. commitment and persistent presence in Latvia and the broader Baltic region,” according to a Pentagon release.
ALSO TODAY: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Pretoria, South Africa, the first stop on an Africa trip that will take him to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda before returning to Washington Friday.
Blinken is scheduled to deliver a speech on the Biden administration’s strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa at 9:45 a.m. Washington time.
RUSSIAN FORCES ON THE MOVE: The war in Ukraine is about to “enter a new phase,” according to Britain’s Defense Ministry, which says in its latest series of intelligence updates that Russian forces are massing in the south in anticipation of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
“Long convoys of Russian military trucks, tanks, towed artillery, and other weapons continue to move away from Ukraine’s Donbas region and are headed southwest,” the ministry says. “Equipment was also reported to be moving from Russian-occupied Melitopol, Berdiansk, Mariupol and from mainland Russia via the Kerch Bridge into Crimea.”
The U.K. says that the heaviest fighting in the war is shifting to a roughly 350 km (217 mile) front line stretching southwest from near Zaporizhzhya to Kherson, paralleling the Dnieper River.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are focusing their targeting on “bridges, ammunition depots, and rail links with growing frequency in Ukraine’s southern regions, including the strategically important railroad spur that links Kherson to Russian-occupied Crimea,” the British assessment says.
The British intelligence also reports the “poor performance” of Russia’s armed forces has likely resulted in the dismissal of at least six Russian commanders since the start of the war. “The commanders of Russia’s Eastern and Western Military Districts have highly likely lost their commands. General-Colonel Aleksandr Chayko was dismissed as Commander of the Eastern Military District in May 2022.”
UN CHIEF WARNS THAT ATTACKS TARGETING NUCLEAR PLANT IN UKRAINE ARE 'SUICIDAL'
Washington Examiner: UN chief warns that attacks targeting nuclear plant in Ukraine are 'suicidal'
Washington Examiner: Russians deploy Iranian drones into battlefield, Ukrainian government official says
Washington Examiner: US will be ‘pursuing’ prisoner swap with Russia, Blinken says
Washington Examiner: Top Russian hypersonics researcher arrested on 'high treason' charge
Washington Examiner: North Korea calls Pelosi ‘destroyer of international peace’
Washington Examiner: Ready for war: Taiwan issues chilling warning over China's attack drills
Washington Examiner: Wray warns of China threat, defends FBI efforts to combat communist spying
Washington Examiner: White House summons Chinese ambassador over continued provocations over Taiwan
Washington Examiner: FBI director ‘not surprised’ al Zawahiri was in home of Haqqani Taliban leader
Washington Examiner: Israel and Palestinian militants agree to ceasefire
Washington Examiner: Israel Defense Forces kill 'entire top brass' of Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Washington Examiner: Islamic Jihad vows ‘no truce’ in new conflict with Israel
Washington Examiner: Why Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are fighting again
Washington Examiner: Opinion: UN tsar releases idiotic statement on latest Israel-Palestinian violence
Washington Examiner: Opinion: China unveils its Taiwan ambitions and enters new era of escalation
New York Times: After Political Spat, China Has Few Options For Seizing Taiwan
USNI News: McMaster: Taiwan Could Prove Difficult for China to Invade
Stars and Stripes: Navy Won’t Back Away From Taiwan In Wake Of Chinese Belligerence, White House Says
Washington Post: It’s an artillery war, but Ukraine still kills tanks with Javelins
Washington Post: The brazen murder that spotlighted Berlin’s timid Russia policy
Financial Times: China Suspends Links With US Military Over Pelosi’s Trip to Taiwan
Air Force Magazine: ‘Sole Purpose‘ Policy Didn’t Make It Into Nuclear Posture Review, but Biden Wants It in the Future
Wall Street Journal: Iran, U.S. Close In On Nuclear Deal Text But Hurdles Remain
Washington Post: Fighter pilots will don augmented reality helmets for training
AP: One year after Afghanistan, spy agencies pivot toward China
Washington Post: After the Fall: What Afghanistan Looks Like Since the Taliban Takeover
Air Force Magazine: PACAF Ponders Inter-Pacific Academy for NCOs as Partner Recruitment Lags
New York Times: Black Officer With 4 Stars Marks First For Marines
Sandboxx: Why The Military Has An Office Dedicated To Tracking The World’s Biggest Blocks Of Ice
Washington Post: Opinion: Michael McFaul: ‘Realists’ have it wrong: Putin, not Zelensky, is the one who can end the war.
Washington Post: Opinion: Chinese ambassador: Why China objects to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan
1 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “Sunrise to Sunset: A Deeper Look at the Defense Cloud Landscape,” with Matthew Jacobs, digital transformation executive at GTM Industry Lead's Public Sector; and Lauren Williams, senior editor at Defense One Salesforce https://www.nextgov.com/feature/Sunrise-to-Sunset
4 a.m. Stuttgart, Germany — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley deliver remarks at the change-of-command ceremony in which Marine Gen. Michael Langley takes over as U.S. Africa commander from retiring Army Gen. Stephen Townsend. https://www.defense.gov/News/Live-Events/ Replayed at 10 a.m.
5 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion with Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Washington Post Live anchor Leigh Ann Caldwell, on Meeks Asia trip with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi which included a stop in Taiwan. https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
9:30 a.m. Huntsville, AL — Space and Missile Defense Symposium with Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler, commander, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. States Space Command; and others. Full agenda for the three-day event at: https://smdsymposium.org/agenda/
“Just think: If an American state were to secede from the United States and declare independence, and then some other nation provided weapons and political support for that state, would the U.S. government — or the American people — allow this to happen?”
Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the U.S., arguing that Taiwan is “an inseparable part of China’s territory” in a Washington Post op-ed.