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Putin hosts Kim Jong Un at arms summit
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi everybody. Ian Bremmer here kicking off your week with a Quick Take from London, as you can see.
And Kim Jong Un is now in Russia, Vladivostok, on his armored personal train. People always love to talk about the fact that the train is armored. I guess that's to ensure that if you try to take it out, you're going to have to try really, really hard to meet with Vladimir Putin.
This is their big annual conference that before Kim Jong Un was announced, it was the president of Laos who was the most exciting participant. In other words, Putin is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to find high level leaders that will engage with him publicly. And that, of course, is not only an indication of how the war is not going for Putin, but also the fact that he is increasingly a rogue state from the perspective of the United States and its advanced industrial allies.
In the near-term, his ability to continue to fight this war continues to be real. His economy is still performing comparatively better than the Americans or others would have expected, given all the sanctions. But in the medium-term, the fact that he has to go to the North Koreans for weapons, the fact that the Chinese, the Emiratis, others refused to provide him with military support, when the Americans say, “If you do, there's going to be hell to pay.” Well, the only countries left that will work with the Russians aren't the ones that are already fully sanctioned by the United States and Europe. It's other rogue states. It's Belarus, it's Syria, it's Iran. And that, of course, means that a constellation of rogues, they act in ways that are credibly disruptive and irresponsible on the global stage. These are the countries that engage in asymmetric warfare, the countries that engage in human trafficking, in drug traffickin, the countries that are willing to engage in proxy warfare and support radicals in other countries around the world, and Russia now becoming the most powerful of the world's rogue states, should give us pause long-term in the geopolitical stability of the world.
I think about before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the cyberattacks that had been occurring from Russian criminals against the United States, for example. And the Americans told the Russians, “You've got to stop that or we're going to hit you hard.” The Russians did stop it. They actually pulled back on it. Would they do that in this environment? I think that's highly unlikely. In other words, I think we're going to see from Russia over the coming years the kind of activities towards the West that we've seen from Iran over the past years towards countries in the Middle East and ironically, happening just at the time that the Iranians are becoming a more normalized actor by opening relations with the Saudis, with the Emiratis, and with others.
Fascinating times geopolitically in the world, but dangerous times as well. That's it for me. Thank you. All.
The Graphic Truth — WAR! Who is it good for?
For arms manufacturers, war is great for business. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago, global military spending was already on an upswing, to the tune of $2 trillion last year. Now, the US and its allies are splashing around a lot of dough to send the Ukrainians weapons to defend themselves against the Russians — to the delight of anyone who owns shares of the companies that make those arms. We take a look at how the stock prices of the world's top listed defense companies have performed in 2022 so far.
The Graphic Truth: Who does China buy arms from & sell to?
The US claimed earlier this week that Russia had asked China for weapons to fight in Ukraine. We still don’t know whether that was true or what came of the supposed request, but interestingly, China buys most of its arms from Russia and doesn’t sell any to Moscow. Here’s a look at Chinese weapons imports and exports.
Images of Queen Elizabeth II are displayed on the lights in London's Piccadilly Circus to mark her Platinum Jubilee in London, 6 February 2022.
Hard Numbers: UK royal jubilee, North Korea ups weapons game, Moroccan tragedy, Costa Rican runoff
70: On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II marked her 70th year as the British monarch, making a surprise announcement about wanting Prince Charles' wife Camilla to be named "Queen Consort" when the time comes. The UK is planning a series of Platinum Jubilee festivities this year, culminating over a long weekend in early June.
9: The US and its allies say North Korea conducted a record nine missile tests in January. A new UN report says Pyongyang has ramped up its weapons program throughout the pandemic, financing it partly with stolen crypto wealth. Officials from the US, Japan, and South Korea will meet on Thursday in Honolulu to discuss these and other issues, including the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
4: A 5-year-old Moroccan boy who was trapped for four days after falling deep in a well has died. Rescuers recovered Rayan’s body on Saturday. His plight grabbed global headlines, and the country’s king expressed his condolences to the boy’s family.
27.3: Former President José María Figueres won the first round of Costa Rica's presidential election on Sunday. Figueres got 27.3% of the vote with three-quarters of the ballots in. His rival in the April 3 runoff will be Rodrigo Chaves, a former finance minister and fellow centrist.
Possible missile carrier spotted at N. Korea parade practice, US think tank says
SEOUL (REUTERS) - A vehicle that may be carrying a ballistic missile has been spotted at a parade training ground in North Korea amid signs it is preparing a big military display for an Oct 10 holiday, a US think tank said.
Indonesian, Singaporean men arrested for allegedly selling guns, explosives
BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Two foreigners were arrested in Bangkok on Friday (Sept 4) for allegedly possessing guns and ammunition with the intent to sell.
Abe to oversee talks on first-strike capability
TOKYO - One of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's final tasks in office will be to decide on whether to acquire weapons that allow pre-emptive strike capability against enemy missile bases in other countries, local media have reported, citing government sources.
India, world's second-largest arms importer, moves to boost domestic weapons industry
NEW DELHI - India's announcement of a ban on the import of 101 items of military equipment has been widely welcomed in the country, but experts say it is a move fraught with risks in the medium term.