Internationella domstolen i Haag ICJ slår fast att Israels bosättningar på ockuperad palestinsk mark strider mot internationell lag. Den internationella domstolen kräver därför att Israel drar sig tillbaka ”så snart som möjligt”.

– Israels bosättningar på Västbanken och i östra Jerusalem har etablerats och upprätthålls i strid med internationell rätt, sa domstolens president Nawaf Salam när han läste upp ICJ:s slutsatser.

Slutsatserna drogs av en panel som bestod av 15 domare. Beslutet är historiskt eftersom FN-domstolen i Haag aldrig tidigare har yttrat sig lika entydigt i frågan. Domslutet gäller markområdena Västbanken,  östra Jerusalem och Gazaremsan. Läs artikel

Kommentar: Hemvärnet skall skall följa med i utvecklingen och bli ”internationaliserad” säger Hemvärnschefen Swaan Wrede.

Hemvärnets styrka är den lokala förankringen hos befolkningen och kännedomen om den lokala geografin. Börjar man luckra upp det sambandet försvinner en hel del av hemvärnets betydelse.

Alla opinionsmätningar visar att det finns ett stort stöd för ett svenskt försvar och att viljan att försvara  landet är hög men det är tydligt att försvarsledning och regering går i motsatt riktning och lämnar landet tomt på egna styrkor. (Utgivarna)

Artikel i Aftonbladet:

Uppdrag utomlands och ny teknik som drönare ställer nya krav på soldaterna. Hemvärnet befinner sig i snabb förändring.

– Det kommer inte bli mindre för oss att göra, snarare mer, säger rikshemvärnschefen Laura Swaan Wrede. […]

Hemvärnssoldater har inte bara fått uppgifter i andra delar av landet. Internationalisering är ett prioriterat område.

– Nu är vi i Storbritannien och utbildar ukrainare i det som kallas för Operation Interflex. Det har vi gjort i snart ett år med fantastiska resultat.

Swaan Wrede ser att Hemvärnet kommer att arbeta mer internationellt i framtiden. Redan nu har man ett större utbyte med Norge, Danmark och de baltiska länderna.

– Nu när vi är Natoallierade kommer det också innebära värdlandsstöd. För att ge det stödet kan vi behöva röra oss över gränserna till våra grannländer. Vi måste helt enkelt följa med i det som händer. Läs artikel

Norge gikk i bresjen for å innføre forbud mot bruk av klasevåpen på 2000-tallet. I 2010 trådte avtalen i kraft, og ifølge SNL har i dag 112 land ratifisert konvensjonen som forbyr all produksjon, lagring, eksport og bruk av klasevåpen.

Torsdag har parlamentet i Litauen vedtatt at de trekker seg fra avtalen.

– Det skyldes behovet for å bruke alle muligheter til å styrke vår avskrekking og forsvar. Siden 2010 har sikkerhetssituasjonen blitt betydelig forverret og truslene mot landets sikkerhet har endret seg, skriver Litauens forsvarsminister Laurynas Kasčiūnas på Facebook.

Ifølge Reuters stemte 103 av 141 stemmeberettigede for å melde Litauen ut av avtalen.[…]

Litauens forsvarsminister Laurynas Kasčiūnas argumenterer med at det i dag er en global mangel på ammunisjon, og at å gjeninnføre klasevåpen vil gjøre det lettere å fylle lagrene.

– Klasevåpen er viktig for å øke effektiviteten av forsvaret mot store arealmål og for å beskytte litauisk territorium og innbyggere. Vi kan ikke la en potensiell angriper få vite på forhånd at forsvarslandet ikke har og ikke vil kunne bruke effektive forsvarstiltak, som angriperlandet bruker i mellomtiden. Det ville vært som å binde hendene våre i en boksering, skriver han på Facebook. Läs artikel

The city-state’s defense minister decodes what Beijing and Washington want in Asia.

Few countries are better equipped to interpret the U.S.-China relationship than Singapore. The small but wealthy city-state has extensive contacts with Washington and Beijing and understands both sides. It knows what’s at stake. And it’s invested in trying to bring the two together and avoid conflict in the Indo-Pacific. Singapore hosts the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, attended by defense ministers from around the world. Last month, that summit was the site of a high-level meeting between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs.[…]

Ng Eng Hen:I don’t pretend to understand China or to be an apologist for China. So let me frame our perspective. We have two theaters of conflict, right? One in Ukraine. And you have one which started after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The retaliation and the retribution by the IDF is painful for all of us. But the greater problem there is that it can expand beyond Gaza and Israel.

We can ill afford a third theater of conflict in Asia. First, I don’t think the system can take it. But I think more importantly, I think the reasons for casus belli are simply not there, or at least not yet.

RA: Well, sure. But you’re an astute observer of China. From speaking to your interlocutors, can you try and explain how are they seeing the world and why they’re acting as they are?

NEH:Well, if you situate yourself in China, a lot of things that they’re doing make sense to them. I’m not saying they didn’t make any mistakes. But to build, for example, features within the South China Sea to move their forward defense line a couple of hundred kilometers makes perfect military strategic sense. The island chain concept was an American concept, and it was meant to contain China. And, from that point of view, if they could do it, they would. So they did.

The assertiveness you were describing in the South China Sea was probably a bad foreign policy. If you speak to them quietly and candidly, they say that they don’t claim every inch of water. They’ve said so publicly, but in private, they say they don’t. How to roll it back is something that they need to deal with. Läs intervjun

In a time of unprecedented global challenges and escalating conflicts, States must commit to multilateralism to allow for the emergence of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order, the Security Council heard today in a ministerial-level open debate. […]

Numerous other countries condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, including the speaker for the Republic of Korea who said it is “surreal” that the meeting on multilateralism and the world order was convened by the Russian Federation — a country that has provided a “painful amount of food for thought” on this subject. […]

Meanwhile, the representative of China deplored the notion of a “rules-based international order” promoted by some countries, as it creates a parallel system outside international law, seeking “legitimacy for double standards and exceptions”.  Calling on NATO to stop being the “troublemaker”, he expressed concern over the bloc seeking expansion.

Peter Szijjarto, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, said his country has been living in the shadow of war for two and a half years, confronted with its direct consequences.  “We have received more than a million refugees,” he said, adding that Hungary faces inflation and “tremendously high” energy prices.  “A war looks different from a neighbourhood, compared to an ocean away,” he observed, noting the long-term risk of the world being divided into blocks again.  Now that a war is happening in Europe, the legitimacy of diplomacy is being debated. However, he pointed out, “diplomacy is not talking to those we fully agree with, but talking to everyone, even those we disagree with on major issues”.  The past two and a half years have proven that there is no battlefield solution for the war in Ukraine, he said, citing as “scandalous” that a country is being stigmatized for arguing in favour of a diplomatic solution.  He underscored that the UN has not been established to serve as a platform for like-minded countries, stating:  “To make Europe great again, we need to make it peaceful again.”Läs referatet

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to force a reduction of NATO’s operations in Europe as a condition of future negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, according to Russia’s top diplomat.

“A political and diplomatic settlement should be accompanied by specific steps for removing the threats to the Russian Federation emanating from the Western, Euroatlantic direction,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the United Nations Security Council. “In the process of agreeing upon mutual guarantees and accords, it will also be necessary to take into account new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent where a common continental architecture of truly equal and indivisible security is being formed.”

That was an apparent reference to a pair of initiatives that the Kremlin has proffered as mainstays of Putin’s long-term strategy. Moscow proposed integrating its various strategic initiatives into a “Greater Eurasian Partnership” with China while also demanding that the United States and Western European allies curtail their military ties with the central and Eastern European countries that have joined NATO in recent years.

“We are ready for looking for a balance of interests,” Lavrov claimed. Läs referatet

Ukrainastödet uppgår enligt nästa års tyska budget till 4 miljarder euro, en sänkning från runt 8 miljarder euro i år, skriver Reuters med hänvisning till ett budgetutkast.

Tyskland hoppas i stället att Ukraina ska kunna tillgodose merparten av sina militära utgifter med hjälp av lån till ett värde av 50 miljarder euro, pengar som öronmärkts för Kiev från vinster på frysta ryska tillgångar som ligger låsta i G7-länderna.

Ledare i EU har förordat lånelösningen genom G7 som en försäkring mot att Donald Trump ska återinträda som president i Vita huset, vilket antas leda till att USA:s stöd sinar. Läs artikel

[…] After the failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in 2023, recognition that its forces cannot regain more of its territory has begun to sink in. Indeed, despite the flow of heavy Western aid, Kyiv may struggle to hold what it has — a circumstance that suggests it should start exploring negotiations with Moscow to end or even freeze the conflict via an armistice now, before the battlefield situation worsens and negotiating room shrinks.

But instead, Washington and European capitals are, unfortunately, doubling down — at least rhetorically — continuing to claim Ukraine will someday join NATO. In fact, after promoting a vague “bridge” to Ukraine’s eventual membership before the summit, during the gathering NATO leaders claimed Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to entry.

In recent weeks, the U.S. also signed a 10-year security pact with Kyiv, and approved the use of U.S. weapons by Ukrainian forces on targets inside the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, seconded by leaders in the Baltics, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested NATO ground troops be sent to Ukraine, while U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff implied that the deployment of NATO trainers to Ukraine is inevitable.

But as we’ve argued previously, it would be foolish to admit Ukraine to NATO — now or ever. Läs artikel

China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, delivered a sharp critique of NATO during an open debate at the UN Security Council on international order and multilateral cooperation. […]

He expressed concern over the current state of international order discussions, noting obvious truths are distorted and questionable narratives are on the rise. Fu highlighted that some countries’ purported ”rule-based international order” initiatives actually seek to establish parallel systems outside existing international legal frameworks, legitimizing double standards and exceptionalism.

”There is only one order in the world, which is the international order based on international law. There is only one set of rules, which are the basic principles and purposes of the UN Charter in international relations. Matters of principle tolerate no vagueness; they must be clear and distinct,” Fu emphasized. Läs artikel

A new U.S. ballistic missile defense site in Redzikowo, Poland, is now operational, and the new site is intended to enhance NATO’s missile shield capabilities, NATO announced in a statement.

Dubbed “Aegis Ashore,” the site is designed to detect, track, and intercept ballistic missiles in flight. The Aegis Ashore site in Poland, along with a similar site in Romania, forms a critical component of NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defence “Enhanced Operational Capability,” the statement reads. These sites are supported by U.S. Navy destroyers stationed in Rota, Spain, and an early-warning radar in Kurecik, Türkiye. Läs artikel

More than 80 Allied aircraft and over 500 personnel are currently participating in the German-led exercise, Arctic Defender, from July 8 to 17, 2024, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, according to a press release.

The exercise aims to enhance NATO’s collective defence capabilities by integrating air forces from Canada, France, Spain, the U.S., and Germany in challenging Arctic conditions.[…]

Arctic Defender is part of the broader Pacific Skies deployment and focuses on advanced aerial manoeuvres and air-to-air refuelling operations. This year marks the first time that the European Air Transport Command (EATC) is conducting its Air-to-Air Refueling Training outside Europe in conjunction with the exercise. The involvement of EATC’s air-refuelers underscores the training’s multinational and integrated nature. Läs artikel