CND Press Roundup Thursday, 30th June 2022

War In Ukraine / NATO

• Keir Giles of the Chatham House think tank has an opinion in The Guardian – calling for more Western support for Ukraine. He argues that NATO reluctance to support Kiev with heavy weapons is dragging the conflict out to Moscow’s advantage. On the barrage of regular nuclear threats emanating from Kremlin-backed news outlets: “In fact, the west’s clearly stated fear of escalation proves to Russia that threats work, regardless of how implausible they may be or how often they have been shown to be empty. By now it’s a tediously repetitive cycle of promises of nuclear annihilation for whoever has most recently upset Russia’s propagandists – for example Russian state TV recently discussed attacking the Netherlands. Russia’s nuclear threats will continue for as long as they are effective in preventing Ukraine being provided with war-winning military support.”

• Britain will supply Ukraine with a further £1 billion in military equipment, the government announced on Wednesday. It comes as NATO branded Russia a “direct threat” in its latest ten-year Strategic Concept document. Among the kit being supplied includes air-defence systems, drones, electronic warfare equipment, and thousands of pieces of gear for Ukrainian soldiers.

AUKUS

• Malaysia has expressed concern over the AUKUS pact after meeting with Australian officials to expand economic ties. Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said his country remained concerned that Australia’s plan to develop nuclear-powered submarines with the US and UK could lead to an arms race in the region. “We want to maintain the South China Sea in particular and the region as a whole as a region of peace, of commerce, of prosperity. We had a very candid discussion on Aukus just now and I thank [Australia’s] foreign minister for explaining the government’s position. Malaysia’s position remains the same. I have mentioned that to the foreign minister,” Abdullah told reporters. ”

Trident

• Lancashire Live and the Daily Star picks up on the story of a recent nuclear convoy which travelled from the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire to Britain’s Trident submarine complex in Scotland. CND spokesperson Philip Gilligan said: “These very dangerous convoys seem to be carrying nuclear warheads past our homes, schools and hospitals with ever increasing frequency. At the same time, those of us who are most likely to be affected by an accident involving one are given little, if any, information about when they will pass our homes or about the specific dangers involved. At a minimum, we need to know, if, and exactly how, we can begin to protect ourselves and our children from the alpha emitting plutonium and uranium particles which could be dispersed if an explosion resulted from an accident involving one of these MoD carriers? Better still, these convoys should be taken off our roads altogether. We do not need nuclear missiles, and we would all be much safer without them on our roads.”

UK Nuclear Energy

• News and Star reports on the gathering of 20 activists from the newly-created Millom and District Against Nuclear Waste Dump – to protest an information event held by The South Copeland GDF Community Partnership. The demonstrators are opposed to the siting of an offshore Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) which would store radioactive waste in an underwater dump. One of the concerns that Millom and District Against Nuclear Waste Dump have is that exploratory work for the site, which involves a marine geophysical survey, would be damaging to marine life.

• Nuclear Free Local Authorities will take part in a special event with opponents of developing fresh nuclear sites. The public conference titled ‘Sizewell C: More Questions than Answers’ is being hosted by local campaign group, Together Against Sizewell C, at Saxmundham Market Hall, High St, Saxmundham, IP17 1AF from 10am until 1.30pm on Saturday 2nd July. The event will discuss topics and opponents surrounding the Sizewell C and Bradwell nuclear projects.

Indo-Pacific Tilt

• North Korea has accused the US of a “sinister” plot to try and develop an “Asian NATO,” ahead of talks between US President Joe Biden and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on developing security cooperation. “The US is hellbent on military cooperation with its stooges in disregard of the primary security demand and concern by Asia-Pacific countries,” Pyongyang’s state broadcaster KNCA said in a report on Wednesday. Biden is meeting with Yoon Suk-yeol and Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid in what is the countries’ first bilateral summit in 5 years.

• Meanwhile, Northern Korean hackers are believed to be behind the theft of $100m in cryptocurrency from a US company last week. The theft occurred on 23 June from Horizon Bridge, a service operated by the Harmony blockchain that allows assets to be transferred to other blockchains. Hackers linked to Pyongyang are said to be among the world’s most prolific, with stolen funds diverted to the country’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.

• NATO leaders have discussed countering Chinese influence in Asia for the first time, as the military bloc released their latest ten-year Strategic Concept document during their summit in Madrid. “We now face an era of strategic competition … China is substantially building up its forces, including in nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, including Taiwan,” NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. “China is not our adversary but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents.” A reorientation towards countering Chinese influence was expected from this year’s summit, however, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also required the bloc to shore up defences on its eastern European flank as well.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Three former UK ministers have warned the government against signing a new Iran nuclear deal, saying it would lead to further destabilisation of the Middle East. Liam Fox, Robert Jenrick, and Stephen Crabb are among the signatures to an emergency motion to be debated in Parliament, and will call for changes to be made to the draft agreement. The motion to be debated on Thursday reads: “This House expresses grave concern at the imminent prospect of a nuclear armed Iran; calls on the Government in its ongoing negotiations in respect of the JCPOA agreement to seek to extend the sunset clauses, enact a stricter monitoring regime, retain terrorist proscriptions, and expand its scope to include Iran’s other destabilising activities in the region.” While the motion will not be binding if passed, it could “indicate the scale of opposition on the Tory benches to the renegotiated agreement,” writes The Telegraph.