In this week’s Four Pillars, we will look at the two fronts of concerns for the Four Pillars – Europe, particularly Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific
Russia, Ukraine, and related updates:
- US will send $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine [ABC News]
- Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say [AP]
- Ukraine Receives First F-16 Fighter Jets After Long Wait [Bloomberg]
- WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich Is Free [Wall Street Journal]
- White House Confirms That Navalny Was Part Of Prisoner Exchange Talks [RFERL]
Even though the frontlines have been relatively static, the war is still raging, in both Ukraine itself, and with Russian (and Chinese) information wars on the Four Pillars. The Pillars continue to back Ukraine in their struggle, with F-16s now active and more aid sent. Between the Pillars and Russia directly, it is good to see journalist Evan Gershkovich (and marine Paul Whelan) freed, but it does give one hesitation about the “we do(n’t) negotiate with terrorists” dilemma the Pillars will now face – hopefully no British or American citizen have the foolishness to voluntarily go to Russia after all the high-profile incidents in recent years. Furthermore, the Pillars will need to be wary of – surprise – Russian interference in elections. Although it is not THE cause for election outcomes being the ways they are, disinformation, as carried by unwitting civilians and voters, are designed to obfuscate and polarize societies. The enemies of the Pillars do not need to put their favored candidate or outcome in power, they just need to magnify the cleavages in public discourse and worsen mutual trust in society – in effect, get people to fight amongst themselves and have nations commit domestic suicide.
Indo-Pacific concerns:
- National Defense Commission: Pentagon has ‘insufficient’ forces ‘inadequate’ to face China, Russia [Breaking Defense]
- India offers $300 million loan to build up Vietnam’s maritime security, saying it is a key partner [ABC News]
- Shifting the U.S.-Japan Alliance from Coordination to Integration [War on the Rocks]
India continues stepping up its role as a leader in maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific, forming close relations with Vietnam due to shared concerns about China. The US and Japan, two Pillars, continue to explore collaboration for defense and security in the region. It is important that these three Pillars are taking seriously their roles to guarantee peace and security in the Indo-Pacific, and also around the world. But one also needs to be aware that more still have to be done vis-a-vis deterrence and preparation against an emboldened China.
Airmen assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron and Fighter Generation Squadron perform pre-flight checks on F-35A Lightning IIs at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, March 28, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Keagan Lee)
