Good morning. Here’s your Situational Awareness for Tuesday, 20 September 2022.
NATO TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW DETERRENCE PLAN: Speaking after a meeting of the NATO Military Committee, which marked the end of the NATO Summit in Estonia, Admiral Rob Bauer spoke out against NATO adversaries, saying, “[A] new era for global security has begun” in which the “entire international rules-based order is under attack.” The admiral added that NATO would begin implementing its new ‘deter and defense plan,’ which he characterized as the most extensive overhaul of NATO military forces since 1949. – R.P.
SIGNS SHOWING INDIA IS DECOUPLING FROM CHINA: Indian law enforcement officials arrested a Chinese national accused of creating fraudulent companies. The arrest is part of larger efforts to investigate all Chinese businesses for financial crimes after large Chinese corporations were convicted of financial fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, data harvesting, and other unfair business practices. – M.S.
U.S. CARRIER TO VISIT SOUTH KOREA AMID NORTH’S NUCLEAR THREATS: The USS Ronald Reagan is set to visit South Korea this week in a show of force following North Korea’s latest round of nuclear threats. The aircraft carrier and its battle group will conduct joint military readiness drills with its South Korean counterparts to show “the firm resolve by the Korea-U.S. alliance for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” according to a South Korean navy spokesperson. This will be the first joint military exercise since 2017 when the U.S. sent three carrier strike groups to the region following a North Korean nuclear test. – M.M.
CHINA HITS STIMULUS TO BUILD DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION-DRIVEN ECONOMY: Chinese government officials announced a new round of liquidity injections over the weekend in an attempt to boost domestic consumption and restart construction projects. China’s economic growth slowed, even contracting in some areas, during the second quarter due to a near collapse of the domestic property market and a zero-COVID policy which dampened exports. Both Shanghai and Hainan regional governments announced they were providing residents with “consumption vouchers” totaling over $28 million in an effort to jumpstart its economy but driven by domestic consumption instead of exports. In addition to the vouchers Shanghai also announced $257 billion for eight new infrastructure projects. – M.M.
ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN MOLDOVA: Thousands of protestors took to the streets in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, to demand the resignation of Pro-western President Maia Sandu and the dissolution of her government. Angered by meteoric consumer energy costs, protestors denounced the government for failing to reach a fair energy deal with Russia. In addition to protests attended by an estimated 20,000 citizens on Sunday, a tent camp was erected outside the Moldovan government headquarters, occupied by protestors who have vowed to remain in place until Sandu resigns and early elections are called. – R.P.
In today’s Early Warning brief, Mike takes a look at the new 2023 ATF strategy, which calls for a national firearm registry and increased funding for agents who are injured or killed, and other indicators that political, social, and economic instability will continue into next year. As always, you can get access to the DailySA’s analyst comments, which explain why these DailySA items are important, by becoming an Early Warning subscriber. Join the subscriber-only chat during the daily livestreams and ask the team your questions by joining here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe