Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Friday, 29 March 2024.
- Americas Rollup
- The Haitian Transitional Presidential Council is set to choose a new government and implement a plan to restore security and free elections.
- AMLO accused his opponents of formulating a “technical coup d’état” with the National Electoral Institute of Mexico and the Mexican court system to annul the 02 June election. The Institute denies that this is happening.
- Indo-Pacific Rollup
- Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. warned that his government was formulating a response to Chinese aggression within their disputed territory. “Filipinos do not yield,” he added. A spokesman for the Chinese defense ministry said the Philippines were headed “down a dangerous path.” (The Philippine government said the response would take several weeks to complete and involves their national security agency, defense department, and “international partners.” The response could be either an international court case or increased joint patrols with regional partners in the South China Sea. – J.V.)
- Russia’s SVR intelligence chief visited North Korea this week to discuss defense and security cooperation. The meeting likely means continued North Korean weapons shipments to Russia and information-sharing about U.S. activities in the region.
- Russia-NATO Rollup
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said airbases housing F-16s headed for Ukraine are legitimate military targets, but he is not trying to start a war with NATO. (Denmark and the Netherlands have jets slated for delivery to Ukraine tentatively in 2024’s second quarter. No other NATO member has promised F-16s, though some have promised training on the jet. – J.V.)
- Estonia’s top military general said the country needs to double defense spending over the next two years to inflict a decisive defeat against a possible Russian invasion, which he says could come in three years. Polish President Donald Tusk recently said NATO is in a “pre-war era,” while Putin continues to say accusations of a Russian invasion are “nonsense.”
- Polish and Czech intelligence services say they raided a Russian spy network in Poland and a Czech-based “Russian propaganda” group that “spread information discouraging the European Union from sending aid to Ukraine.”
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her opposition to French President Macron’s idea of sending NATO troops into Ukraine.
- France is requesting foreign police and military support to secure the Paris 2024 Olympics, which may be a terror target.
- Middle East Rollup
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his counterpart at the League of Arab States, adding that Sino-Arab cooperation will continue towards a “shared future,” according to Chinese media.
THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.