20 Chinese and Taiwanese ships came face to face in the Taiwan Strait

 

For the second day in a row, China is conducting an exercise targeting targets inside the island of Taiwan. In light of this, security tension along with political tension has prevailed on the Taiwan Strait today.

About 20 warships have come face-to-face near the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, an informed source confirmed. Ten of these ships are from China and ten from Taiwan. According to the Reuters news agency, the source said on condition of anonymity that China today carried out simulated and simulated attacks on foreign military targets on the southwest coast of Taiwan.

Since Saturday, China has begun exercises in the Taiwan Strait to fully encircle the island. According to the state television, these exercises of the Chinese army will continue until Monday.

On the other hand, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has announced that early Sunday, China has continued its military exercises and sent several aircraft. The Ministry of Defense clarified that on the second day of the exercises, 9 warships and 58 Chinese aircraft have been monitored around the island. China's drills have been launched a day after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a visit to the US. The visit angered Beijing.

China resents the years-long relationship between Taiwan's authorities and Washington. Beijing considers Taiwan, with a population of 23 million, an integral part of its territory. However, since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, it has not been able to reunite it with the rest of its land.

Despite the agreement with Iran, US-Saudi Arabia relations are improving

 

"There remains a lot of goodwill between the two countries, but the United States now has to deal with a Saudi Arabia that is very different from the past, and that is one of the understandable hurdles."

The more than 70-year-old relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has undoubtedly passed through its most difficult phase.

But despite a recent Chinese-backed deal to restore ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, recent statements from officials and the Biden administration indicate that this cold wave is slowly giving way to a more stable environment between Washington and Riyadh. I am changing.

In a statement, a State Department spokesperson told Al Arabiya that "Looking forward, we are committed to ensuring that our cooperation with Saudi Arabia continues to serve the interests of the American people, and we have We have seen and will continue to see great strategic importance in the relationship."

The oil embargo in the 1970s, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Obama administration's policy on Iran and the subsequent 2015 nuclear deal have seen many other difficult periods in Saudi-US relations.

Relations were boosted during the tenure of former US President Trump and he made his first official visit to Saudi Arabia. However, after Donald Trump blocked a military response to Iran's attacks on Saudi oil refineries in 2019, the climate of confidence was affected.

During Trump's post-election campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to "isolated" Saudi Arabia. Shortly after Biden took office, several foreign policy decisions targeted Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, including freezing arms sales to Riyadh.

But the events of the past six months are particularly alarming and threaten the continuity of US-Saudi relations.

The decision by the Saudi-led OPEC Plus to cut oil production ahead of the US midterm elections was interpreted by the Biden administration as a political ploy to undermine the Democrats' chances of victory against the Republicans. Saudi Arabia vehemently denied the allegations, pointing to the stabilization of oil prices immediately after the decision to cut oil production.

Washington also accused Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia at a time when the US and Europe were trying to squeeze Vladimir Putin's coffers during the war in Ukraine.

The White House and other US officials have called for a renegotiation of relations with Saudi Arabia, even threatening economic and financial sanctions.

But shortly after, the tone of American officials towards Saudi Arabia changed.

At the United Nations, Saudi Arabia led several Arab and Gulf states in a referendum to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. After that, Saudi Arabia promised to give 400 million dollars to Ukraine. The Biden administration quickly toned down its criticism and praised Saudi Arabia's positive contributions globally.

Emmanuel Macron's phone call with Biden ahead of China visit

 

Agree on ties with China for early end of Ukraine war

French President Emmanuel Macron contacted his US counterpart Joe Biden by phone before his visit to China. The two leaders agreed to increase ties with China for an early end to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to a statement issued by the French presidential office, Elysee Palace, the two leaders expressed their agreement to contact China for an early end to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the establishment of lasting peace in the region.

According to the statement, Macron and Biden expressed hope that China will play its role in the efforts of solidarity between the countries of the global North and South and in the protection of the environment and biodiversity.

It should be noted that the French President will arrive in China on Wednesday on a three-day visit.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss bilateral relations in his meeting with the French President.

'Our deterrence power is waning', Israeli intelligence sounded the alarm

 The overall strategic situation in Israel has been deteriorating over the past several months. In this regard, the Research Division of the Israeli Intelligence Directorate has warned in a recent note that the military's counter-offensive capacity is running out.

According to a report published by the newspaper "Israel Hum" on Tuesday, the research department attributed this to an internal dispute over the project of judicial reforms.

He also explained that the serious decline in Israel's strategic position is due to a number of reasons, the most prominent of which is the weakness that Israel's enemies perceive as a result of internal conflict over the judicial reform project.

Judicial amendments should be postponed

According to the report, the extraordinary warning was sent to top officials and key decision-makers at the defense and political levels, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoao Gallant and National Security Adviser Zachary Hanegbi.

He also said it was this warning that prompted Gallant to call for a halt to the judicial reform plan last week and led to his ouster, but that Netanyahu ultimately froze the plan. was forced to withdraw and Gallant's dismissal.

According to the Research Department of the Israeli Military Intelligence Division, another reason for the deterioration of Israel's strategic situation is the coldness in the relations between Israel and the United States.

Weakness of deterrence

The tension between Washington and Tel Aviv and the weakening of Israel's defenses have benefited Iran the most because it believes that Israel will not be able to launch a campaign against it without American support, or attack its nuclear program. will be able

The report concludes that "along with the weakening of Israel's resilience, its political and security relations in the regional and international arenas have weakened."