The New York Times - Your Monday Briefing: Arms race in Asia

By Mariah Kreutter

Good morning. We’re covering increased military tensions in the Pacific and Putin’s nuclear claims in Belarus.

An arms race in Asia

Countries across Asia and the Pacific are bolstering their defense budgets, spooked by China’s military buildup, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and doubts about U.S. resolve in the region. The current arms race is the most significant in Asia since World War II.

In the past month, North Korea launched cruise missiles from a submarine for the first time and Australia unveiled a $200 billion plan to build nuclear-propelled submarines. Japan, after decades of pacifism, is gaining new offensive capabilities with U.S. Tomahawk missiles. American officials are trying to amass a giant weapons stockpile in Taiwan. And India has conducted joint training exercises with Japan and Vietnam.

India and Japan have signed several agreements that typify the region’s interlocking defense plans. Both countries are also expanding cooperation with the U.S., which is focusing on coordinated regional interdependence, while ensuring they are not too dependent on Washington.

China’s ambitions: China’s increased territorial threats are a major factor in its neighbors’ turn toward military power. President Xi Jinping has made it clear that China wants to control access to the South China Sea and bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

U.S. doubts: Many Asian leaders worry that the war in Ukraine has drawn U.S. capabilities away from the region. With diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing at their lowest point in a half century, some U.S. commanders have suggested that war could arrive in the next few years.

History: The tiny island of Tinian was the launch point for American planes carrying atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Now, it’s a site of joint exercises between American and Japanese airmen.

Putin’s nuclear brinkmanship

President Vladimir Putin of Russia said he would be able to position tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a close ally of Russia that borders Ukraine, by the summer.

Analysts said the claim was likely bluster, but it underscored Putin’s willingness to raise the specter of nuclear conflict to pressure the West to back down from its support of Ukraine.

During a wide-ranging interview for a weekly state television show, Putin provided new details of a plan that he first floated last year. He said that 10 Belarusian warplanes have already been retrofitted to carry Russian nuclear weapons, and that a storage facility for the warheads would be ready by July 1.

A NATO spokesperson on Sunday called Putin’s rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible” but said that “we have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own.” John Kirby, the spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said there was no indication Putin intended to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

On the ground: Ukrainian forces could be close to stabilizing the front lines in Bakhmut, the commander of the country’s armed forces said.

Tensions: In Ukraine, American volunteers with questionable backgrounds have rushed to join the fight. In Russia, former prisoners who fought in the war are being buried as heroes, but not everyone can forget their crimes.

Netanyahu fires a critic

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, less than a day after Gallant called for the government to delay its overhaul of the judiciary.

The move intensified one of the gravest domestic crises in the country’s history. Israel has been roiled by weeks of protests set off by the proposal to give the government greater control over the selection of Supreme Court justices and limit its authority over Parliament. Critics say the plan would deal a mortal blow to the independence of the judiciary and move the nation away from liberal democracy.

The unrest has spilled over into the military, which Gallant cited in his speech. “This is a clear and immediate and tangible danger to the security of the state,” he said. So many reservists have threatened to stand down from duty if the law goes ahead that the leaders of the Israel Defense Forces have warned of a threat to operational capacity.

What’s next: Netanyahu’s decision to fire Gallant seemed to signal the government’s intention to vote on the first part of the legislation in Parliament early this week. But two other coalition members have backed Gallant’s call to halt the process, and if a third follows suit, the government could lose its majority.

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ARTS AND IDEAS

Your pandemic stories

Amelia here. I wanted to share some of the beautiful responses to our recent question about pandemic silver linings. Thank you to the more than 200 of you who wrote from New Zealand to South Korea, Nepal to China, to tell us about unexpected joys in these hard few years. 

Many of you wrote about being able to spend unexpected time with your families, or taking time to reflect. 

In New Delhi, Gorvi Sajnani “got the chance to enjoy many elements of the ‘slow life.’”

“My day started with yoga and meditation, followed by sitting with my parents in the balcony of my house,” he writes.

Chris, in Auckland, New Zealand, experimented with vegan cooking. Karin, who lives in Hong Kong, studied the Bible more and started praying more often. Kartik Sharma moved from India to Switzerland to be with his wife. And Anna opened Hong Kong’s first and only cannoli company.

A lot of you shared stories of new pets. “Before the pandemic, I used to feed a sweet little street cat named Mao, who lived under my office building,” said Namrata Mayur Shah, who lives in Mumbai. When lockdown came, Namrata drove — for the first time in six years — and navigated through police checkpoints to find Mao and bring him home. — Amelia Nierenberg

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

Sheet-pan bibimbap will help you use the stray vegetables in the crisper.

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A new documentary traces the career of the influential video artist Nam June Paik.

Lynsey Chutel, who regularly writes our “Spotlight on Africa” section, has travel suggestions for Johannesburg, her hometown.

The Amplifier has a companion playlist for Lana Del Rey’s newest album, “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.”

How well did you follow last week’s headlines?

Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Furious (five letters).

Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Mariah

P.S. The Times won three Overseas Press Club awards.

Start your week with this narrated long read about an Italian food fight.

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