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Threat of war in the Indo-Pacific: “The turn to the region with such force is new”

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Threat of war in the Indo-Pacific: “The turn to the region with such force is new”

Threat of war in the Indian and Pacific oceans
„Devotion to the region this strong is new”

Written by Andrea Silman and Mary Abdel-Aziz Dizzo

Conflicts between China and the West are increasing in the South China Sea. Japan and Germany are getting closer to each other because of the unstable situation. The goals are diverse: protecting the freedom of the seas and tackling climate change.

Since Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, there has been growing concern that the Taiwan crisis may also escalate. If China attacks Taiwan, it will have a huge impact on the global economy. Japan has always monitored the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region for geographical reasons. also Tobias Kolakowskithe frigate commander in the Bundeswehr, knows the Indo-Pacific region well.

Kolakowski notes that interest in the West has increased recently: Japan has always been an important partner for Germany, says Kolakowski on the podcast „Wirtschaft Welt & Weit”: But our focus on this region with such force is new, as the frigate commander reports in the current podcast -Impact.

When Chancellor Olaf Schultz visited Japan in the spring, he took half of the treasury with him. Economically, too, we no longer see Japan as a competitor, but as a partner with whom we can work and learn. For years, Japan has been trying to curb the dominance of the trading power of China in the Indo-Pacific region. For example, the Japanese are countering China’s Silk Road initiative to expand global trade routes with their infrastructure projects in countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and India. The order explains that it is about the construction of railway and road projects Franz Waldenbergas an economist who watches Japan closely.

Learn from Japan

The goal is not only to increase their economic presence, but also to maintain free trade routes in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Does this work? What opportunities might this create for the German economy? What other areas can we learn from Japan? In the fight against climate change, for example, Japan’s German Power Villages, which generate electricity independently, are leading by example. With regard to nuclear energy, on the other hand, the country is choosing a completely different path, despite the nuclear disaster in Fukushima twelve years ago.

The host discusses that and more Mary Abdel Aziz Dizzo with their guests. Franz Waldenberger is Director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo. The economist has been closely watching the Japanese economy for more than three decades and is an expert on German-Japanese trade relations. Frigate Commander Tobias Kolakowski is an expert on the security situation and trade routes in the Indo-Pacific. He works at the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Hamburg, a German military think tank.

global economy on a large scale

What must Germany do in order to continue to play an important role in the economy of tomorrow? Who do we depend on? What countries benefit from the new global situation? Mary Abdelaziz Ditzou discusses this in NTV’s podcast „Wirtschaft Welt & Weit” with the experts involved.

You can find all episodes in the ntv app or wherever there are podcasts: at RTL + MusicAnd Apple PodcastAnd Google PodcastAnd SpotifyAnd Amazon Music or Deezer. For all other podcast apps, you can use an RSS feed.

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Residents must leave the city: Israel begins evacuating Rafah before military deployment

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Residents must leave the city: Israel begins evacuating Rafah before military deployment

Residents must leave the city
Israel begins evacuating Rafah before military action

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The Israeli army begins evacuating the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. The army calls on residents of the eastern part of the city, located on the border with Egypt, to go to Al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean Sea, a few kilometers north. Military action is expected.

The Israeli army began evacuating the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, in preparation for an expected military operation. The army called on residents of the eastern part of the city, located on the border with Egypt, to go to Al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean Sea, a few kilometers north.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamic terrorist Hamas movement in Cairo regarding a new ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners had previously remained unsuccessful. Israel wants to use the military operation in Rafah to destroy the remaining brigades of the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. There are also suspected hostages in the city on the border with Egypt.

Israel’s allies have been warning urgently for months against launching such an attack in Rafah because hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are gathering there. However, Israel believes that the operation is necessary to ensure the destruction of Hamas’ combat capabilities. Otherwise, it could regain its power after the war ends.

The border crossing is closed

Members of Hamas’ military wing fired rockets at Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday, killing three Israeli soldiers. Kerem Shalom is considered the main border crossing for delivering aid from Israel to the Gaza Strip. The army temporarily closed the crossing to humanitarian transport after the missile attack. According to his statements, the army then bombed the place in the Gaza Strip near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, from which the attack was launched.

Before the combat operations in Rafah, Israel said that it wanted to evacuate the city first. This is expected to take several weeks. Israel said that Hamas prepared its fighters in Rafah to deploy against Israel and provided them with supplies and weapons. According to media reports, the number of hostage guards has also been increased.

Ground attack in stages

According to information received from the Wall Street Journal, Israel wants to carry out its ground attack in Rafah in stages. The newspaper wrote about two to three weeks of evacuation and six weeks of attack. Senior Israeli intelligence and military officials met in Cairo last month, among others, with the head of Egyptian intelligence to discuss Israel’s planned deployment of its army in Rafah.

The head of the Egyptian Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, had previously stated that there were no discussions with Israel about its possible military attack in Rafah. Egypt strongly rejects plans for such an attack and has made this position clear several times. The city to the south is the only city on the enclosed coastal strip that remains relatively intact.

Egypt fears, among other things, that the Israeli deployment in Rafah will lead to a rush of Palestinians across the border. The border crossing from the Gaza Strip to Egypt is located in Rafah, and is also an important gateway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the closed coastal enclave. Intense fighting in Rafah may further complicate deliveries of food, medicine and fuel.

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Experts suspect the Kremlin is behind the new law

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Experts suspect the Kremlin is behind the new law
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People in Georgia have been protesting against a government law for weeks. One expert suspects Russian influence behind the project.

Tbilisi – In recent days, Georgia has witnessed huge demonstrations against the law planned by the government. The law stipulates that NGOs that receive more than 20 percent of their funds from abroad must identify the source of the funds and register with the authorities. According to one expert, the Kremlin may be behind the proposed law in Georgia.

Protests in Georgia: Experts suspect the Kremlin is behind the law

Thousands of people protested against the law in Georgia on Friday (May 3) with slogans such as “No to the Russian government” or “We will not tire.” The bill was approved on second reading on Wednesday (May 1). But for weeks, people have taken to the streets and confronted police, who have responded to the demonstrations with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets.

Oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili (left) is believed to be the driving force behind the controversial law in Georgia. © Photomontage Shakh Ayvazov / Zurab Tsertsvadze / German Press Agency

Critics accuse Georgia’s Russia-allied government of modeling the law on Russia’s „proxy law.” “In terms of internal politics, there is actually no explanation for this,” Stefan Mallerius, representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Tbilisi, says in ZDF magazine today. The Georgian government withdrew the “Russian law,” as some called it, in March 2023 after massive protests. For Mallerius, the fact that it will now come into force comes “suddenly.”

Georgia: Law through „foreign interference”

The head of the regional program in the South Caucasus suspects „interference from abroad, specifically from Russia.” “There has to be a connection from the Kremlin or the Kremlin region,” he says. Malerios suspects that Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is considered the country’s unofficial decision-maker, is behind the law. Malerius continues to speculate, saying, “He was told or made clear that he had to introduce this law now.” Ivanishvili was the initiator of the inter-party alliance and today’s ruling party, the Georgian Dream.

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The law still needs Parliament’s approval on a third reading. This is scheduled to be done within two weeks. Pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili is expected to veto the measure. But pro-government representatives in parliament have a sufficient majority to override the president’s veto. The ruling party aims for the law to enter into force in mid-May. Georgia has been an official candidate for European Union membership since last December. Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter sees Georgia’s accession as being at risk from the law. (FCA/AFP)

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Russia is feverishly assembling a new Black Sea fleet

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Russia is feverishly assembling a new Black Sea fleet
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The Russian Black Sea Fleet was partially destroyed or severely damaged in the Ukrainian war off Crimea. Now Russia is rearming and is frantically assembling two new ships for the navy.

MOSCOW – Since the beginning of the Ukrainian war, Ukrainian forces have been inferior to Russia in some respects: Ukraine has fewer soldiers at its disposal and fewer weapons and ammunition. However, the attacking country has repeatedly managed to inflict significant losses on Vladimir Putin’s forces. This is precisely what Russia would like to begin now – assembling its fleet again after several successful attacks by Ukraine on the Russian navy. But it will likely take some time before the warships are deployed.

Ukraine has repeatedly succeeded in attacking the Russian Black Sea Fleet off the Crimean Peninsula

A few weeks ago, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet largely withdrew from Crimea. The sea off the occupied peninsula has long been a popular target for Ukrainian attacks. For example, Ukraine was able to sink the naval flagship “Moskawa” shortly after the war began, followed by other destroyed ships in February and March 2024, such as the Russian patrol boat “Sergei Kotov.”

It is now said that Ukraine has managed to destroy or damage about a third of Putin’s entire fleet. Many of the attacks were carried out with Navy drones.

After heavy losses: Russia wants to expand its fleet in the Black Sea with two warships

Like the Ukrainian center Rapid defense Reports now indicate that Putin is already working to modernize the badly damaged Black Sea Fleet. Accordingly, Russia wants to put a Karakurt-class corvette and a Vasily Bykov-class heavy patrol boat into service soon.

The new additions will be manufactured for the Russian Navy at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. Since 1895, the shipyard has mainly manufactured warships, which were usually later used by the Black Sea Fleet or the Baltic Fleet. The launch is scheduled to take place one day in May, although the Russian Defense Ministry has not yet announced a specific day.

New warships used in the Ukraine war? Russia still has to be patient

However, the launch only symbolizes the end of the manufacturing phase, and further on-water work and testing will follow Rapid defense. In the case of the Karakurt class, it could take up to three years for the ship to be launched after launch, for example Ukraine war can be used. The patrol boat should be much faster. The previous ship, „Sergei Kotov”, which was sunk by Ukrainian forces last March, was in service with the Russian Navy after about a year and a half. It is scheduled that a Ka-27 combat helicopter will be stationed on board the patrol ship, as happened previously on the destroyer “Sergei Kotov.”

Patrol ship
One of the losses of the Black Sea Fleet: the patrol ship “Sergei Kotov” (front). And now a similar ship will soon leave the Russian shipyard. © Vitaly Timkiv/Imago

It remains to be seen how useful Russia’s frantic attempt to rebuild the Black Sea Fleet will be in the Ukraine war. However, one thing is clear: the country ruled by Vladimir Putin will suffer more damage in the ongoing war. In addition to military objectives, there are also… The number of casualties among Russian soldiers is enormous. However, putting an end to the war does not appear to be on Putin’s agenda. A major offensive is currently being planned for the summer, and forces in eastern Ukraine are also trying to advance into Ukraine. (Prophet)

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